Yandere Sniper
by TwelveTurquoise12
Summary: NOW A ONESHOT SERIES! "Chiba Ryuunosuke has a date! AND it's not Hayami!" Hearing this, a flame ignites inside Hayami, and feelings she never knew are bursting to surface. ChibaHaya. Table of contents now added to the first chapter!
1. Yandere Sniper Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize**

* * *

"You got a WHAT?"

Okajima stood up abruptly, knocking his knee against his desk loudly, his bento box nearly clattering to the floor. Chiba, who sat behind him, stuck his hands in his pockets nonchalantly.

"Eh?" Karma, who was sitting behind Chiba, leaned forward. "What's this? Did I heard the word 'date'?" His lips twisted into a smirk.

"CHIBA RYUUNOSUKE HAS A DATE?! _AND_ IT'S NOT HAYAMI?!"

The whole class became quiet suddenly as they all turned their heads to stare at Okajima, who had blurted out Chiba's not-so-secret-secret.

It took everyone three seconds for this to sink in.

"EH?!" Everybody yelled, and instantly the classroom was filled with hollers, screams, and loud chattering.

"I told you!" Terasaka hollered gruffly from the other side of the room, a triumphant smirk on his face. "1000 yen, Nakamura! Pay up!"

Nakamura pursed her lips together, crossing her arms. "Fine," she shot back swiftly and began rummaging in her wallet furiously.

To be honest, the blonde girl wasn't angry at the fact that she lost the bet with Terasaka and had to pay 1000 yen, but she was pissed off at Chiba and Hayami not becoming a thing. About everyone in the class wanted them to be together, even Koro-sensei. Nakamura had a sneaking suspicion that even Karasuma and Bitch-sensei wanted them to date. Karasuma always paired the two up even if they weren't focusing on sniping, and Bitch-sensei never tried to kiss either of them (Sugino had to witness Kanzaki's first kiss being stolen by Bitch-sensei, which was terribly unfortunate).

Suddenly, Koro-sensei whizzed in at top speed. It was 3-E's lunch break, and Koro-sensei had probably flown off to somewhere on the other side of the globe to eat. But obviously, their teacher couldn't resist even a bit of juicy gossip.

"What's that about a date, Chiba-kun?" Koro-sensei grinned widely, standing next to the student. He was holding a notebook and a pen, ready to jot down notes at Mach speed.

Chiba was very embarrassed at the whole class knowing about his date. "It's, it's just nothing," he muttered.

"Really?" Karma teased. "You seem pretty flustered about it. Ooh, what if she's your long time crush?"

Chiba shot Karma a glare, which wasn't very noticeable as his eyes were covered. "Some girl from the main campus asked me out, and I couldn't just reject her. I mean, I'm not very good at these kind of things." Chiba answered, his voice becoming even quieter and quieter, and his face grew redder. "It's not what you think it is."

 _It's not Hayami-san?!_ Koro-sensei screamed quietly as his face became white and expressionless. _But...but… aren't they dating? I need more based-on-true-story-romance-novel ideas! Those two snipers are just perfect!_

"Oh, I see," Koro-sensei smiled pleasantly, his face returning to its usual yellow. "If that's the case, I won't be bothering you anymore. I'm off to Italy for pizza! _Ciao_!" And with that, Koro-sensei disappeared.

"Weird," Nakamura said, blue eyes staring where Koro-sensei had just been. "He usually gets really inquisitive about rumours. Especially love rumours."

"We want details, Chiba!" Karma said teasingly as he slung an arm on the other boy's shoulder. "When did this happen? How did she confess to you? Where are you two going?"

"Uh...urm…" Chiba stuttered, not used to all the attention. He yanked his bangs down, as if to protect him even if they were already covering his eyes. "Stop asking questions!"

"And how about Hayami? We all thought you two were dating!" Okajima yelled in front of Chiba's face. He looked startled, then a light blush filled his cheeks and he looked away.

As if Okajima's words suddenly reminded her, Okuda asked, "Where's Hayami-san?" The shy girl gestured to the empty seat in front of her. Even Hayami's bento box was gone.

"Oh...yeah," Nakamura looked back. "Don't worry, she's probably being jealous somewhere." She answered casually. "And plotting how to murder Chiba's date. You know, she's our Tsundere Sniper. Won't like her feelings to show."

* * *

Hayami stormed outside angrily, her wrapped up bento box in one hand and her pistol in another. She sat beneath a tree some ways from the classroom, bright green eyes glaring at the ground.

" _CHIBA RYUUNOSUKE HAS A DATE?!_ AND _IT'S NOT HAYAMI?!"_

When she heard these words, she felt her chest tighten automatically. She suddenly felt angry and she slammed her chopsticks down with a clang.

While everyone rioted around her, Hayami froze, thoughts swarming her mind. Somehow, Okajima's words ignited a small flame within her she wasn't aware of. And that fire began to burn, raging through her whole body. She hadn't felt fury like this for years.

 _Why am I even so mad?_ Hayami asked herself repeatedly. _It's totally none of my business about who Chiba goes out with. NONE. OF. MY. BUSINESS. At all._

And suddenly, as suddenly as her rage came, a wave of another emotion covered it all. A slight twinge of disappointment. Her hand trembled and her eyes widened. Somewhere within her, a small, soft voice called out, " _I wish Chiba would ask me out too…_ "

Hayami jolted up, alarmed and embarrassed. A rare blush dotted her cheeks. _WHAT DID I JUST THINK OF?!_ _Oh no. Nonononononono. Nope._

Hayami took a deep breath and muttered softly, "I did not say I want to date Chiba. I did not say it. I did not say anything." Fortunately for her, no one heard or else there would be one hell of a rumour.

And then, feelings began to churn inside her. Anger, hurt, jealousy (she _totally_ had no reason to get jealous), bloodlust… It was confusing and she did not like that. Hayami preferred to be clear and straightforward when she could.

All she knew was that she did not like the idea of Chiba having a date.

Other than that date being her, that is. And that was a completely different matter.

Okay, Hayami Rinka was now a confused pile of jealousy, disappointment and budding affection towards her sniping partner. She needed some time to think. Alone. And hopefully find some way to conceal all of her emotions.

Wordlessly, she quickly packed her bento box, fingers nimbly wrapping the box with the cloth. She twisted the cloth to make a knot, grabbed her favourite pistol (which was stashed in her drawer) and she was ready to go.

Slouching her body, she weaved between her classmates and approached the door. She saw Koro-sensei suddenly zip past her but gave it no thought.

Hayami tightened her grip around the pistol as she stepped over the threshold.

"You seem pretty flustered about it. Ooh, what if she's your long time crush?"

The girl froze. Karma's voice was not very noticeable among the noisy chattering of her classmates, but she heard him clearly. Swiftly, she turned around, green eyes scanning the room for a certain boy.

Chiba was blushing.

Chiba was _blushing._

Her eyes flashed liquid green for a moment, before she stepped out of the classroom, hands clenched in fists.

And that was how Hayami ended up under that tree.

She sighed and aimed her pistol around randomly. She fired, and an anti-sensei bullet shot out. Her eyes followed the ball as it landed and rolled off.

Hayami reopened her bento box and stuffed some food into her mouth. As she chewed, she pondered over what just happened earlier.

 _So, I got kinda jealous because Chiba has a date, which was only because I spent too much time with him and had this crazy illusion that I was his only friend. So when he gets a date I get jealous,_ Hayami concluded, swallowing her mouthful of rice.

 _Huh, only because of that?_ A Karma-like voice hissed.

Hayami's cheeks gradually reddened, until she resembled a tomato. She fidgeted around uncomfortably, and finally relaxed. _Fine, I may have kinda developed a teeny tiny crush on Chiba._ Hayami let out the breath she was unknowingly holding. There, she admitted it!

Then the whole thing hit her like a ton of bricks.

She had a crush on Chiba. And she never had a crush before so he was her first crush.

And her crush was about to go on a date with someone else.

Her crush was not only her crush, but also her partner in about everything, her good friend- no, scratch that, her _best_ friend. He was one of the few people who truly understood her, and knew what she was thinking without communicating. It was a running joke in the class that they were mute but in reality they just didn't want to say meaningless words. The sniper duo made every word count, and whenever they talked it was about assassination and work.

Well lately they started talking about themselves but those conversations always ended awkwardly.

Anyways her Chiba was going to be someone else's if she didn't act quickly.

Hayami paused, chopsticks frozen in mid air. _Her_ Chiba? Where did that come from? When did she get so possessive?

"Nurufufufu," a familiar laugh sounded from behind the tree trunk. Hayami turned around and saw Koro-sensei's smiley head staring down at her. A tentacle reached up and pinched her cheek in a grandmotherly way. "Ah, Hayami-san, are you feeling little flames of _jealousy_ because your beloved Chiba-kun has been taken?" Koro-sensei's eyes glinted mischievously.

Ah, so he was there to collect gossip from her.

"Sensei, I'm not in the mood for this," Hayami replied awkwardly, closing her bento box.

"The Nile isn't just a river in Egypt," Koro-sensei grinned, now poking Hayami with a tentacle.

"So you decided to pick up puns from Nakamura? English puns too?" Hayami chose to remain cool and collected as she squirmed away from Koro-sensei's touches.

"Nurufufufu!" The sensei laughed again. This time, he leaned close to Hayami's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "I know about your secret feelings for Chiba-kun!" His face began to turn pink. "Oh, woe is the indifference of your love! Your unrequited love for Chiba-kun!"

"You know what, you make a really bad poet." Hayami started shifting uneasily away.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Koro-sensei moved away.

"Really?" The girl raised an eyebrow.

Koro-sensei was offended. "Of-of course!" he screeched, as teeny beads of sweat rolled down his face and he began to dart around in a panicked fashion. "If anyone asks about your love life, I'll answer, 'I don't know anything about Hayami-san's love for Chiba-kun!' See! You can trust me!" Koro-sensei gestured his hands frantically.

Hayami sweatdropped. _As if!_ Then she sighed. She had no choice but to trust him anyway.

Seeing his student making no reply, Koro-sensei continued, "You know, you should try to take the initiative. I know you don't like beating around the bush. So just go and aim for his heart like you do in sniping!" Koro-sensei suddenly changed into an abnormally short frilly dress and put on a blonde wig with curls and a pink ribbon. He even applied eyeliner, lipstick, and blush. Hayami snorted at his ridiculous look.

"Just do it like how they do in mahou shojo (anime and manga featuring magical girls)! Love Bullet Shoot!" Koro-sensei shaped one of his tentacles like a gun, aimed somewhere in the distance and winked flirtatiously, the strands of his wig fluttering in the breeze.

Hayami didn't know whether to laugh or to cringe. Before she had time to decide, Koro-sensei changed back into his usual attire.

"Hayami-san, go for it! I will always be supporting you, the Tsundere Sniper!" And then the sensei whisked away.

Hayami stared at her hands as she played with the hem of her shirt. She stood up, packed her things and made her way back to the classroom.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nakamura had dragged Nagisa and Kayano to the corridor to spy on Hayami. They leaned out of one of the windows in the corridor. She would have also gotten Karma to come if he wasn't so preoccupied with asking Chiba questions.

"Heh heh…" Nakamura smirked sinisterly. "She really is jealous."

"Well, it's understandable. She likes Chiba." Kayano said, while secretly thinking, " _I totally get how you feel! Nagisa is so oblivious!_ "

"Whoa, it's Koro-sensei." Nagisa said, sapphire eyes widening slightly at the sight of their yellow octopus teacher. All three of them ducked. They watched Koro-sensei and Hayami for a while, trying to decipher their lip movements as they conversed.

"Rinka-chan is blushing!" Kayano whispered excitedly. "Aww!"

"She's soooo cute when she gets flustered!" Nakamura cooed. "We need to get Chiba and Rinka-chan together."

"Agree," Kayano said, and mischief sparkled in their eyes.

"Will someone please remind me why I'm out here again?" Nagisa deadpanned.

Nobody bothered to answer him. Both girls were already deep in thought. But when they rose to spy on the two again, they froze.

Nakamura, Kayano, and Nagisa blinked. Koro-sensei was dressed in the uniforms one might see in magical girl anime, short pink skirts and such, and had a big curly wig on with an enormous pink bow.

"What the…"

Nakamura took one look and fell to the floor laughing, bursting into raucous peals of laughter. Nagisa and Kayano immediately covered her mouth, fearing they might be discovered. "Shh, Nakamura!" Nagisa hissed.

"I'm sorry!" The girl wheezed, hiccuping as her laughter gradually subsided. "It's just...just hilarious!"

"Rio-chan! You might want to see this!" Kayano cried gleefully as she looked up while Nagisa tried to help Nakamura up.

"What?" Nakamura panted and peered. A devious smirk appeared on her face as she quickly whipped out her phone and snapped some pictures, at the exact moment Koro-sensei was doing his "Love Bullet Shoot"!

"Oh my gosh!" Kayano peered at the screen. "Why would Koro-sensei dress up like that?"

Nagisa stared intently at the photo, then back at Hayami and Koro-sensei. "Umm… what if Koro-sensei wants Hayami-san to dress up like a magical girl?"

"Whoa." Nakamura staggered back as if she had been physically hit by the idea. Visions of Hayami dressing in a pink skirt with frilly short sleeves and winking at them floated in the trio's heads.

"What a bad image," Kayano rubbed her head. "She's not right for this."

"And exactly what makes her perfect for that." Nakamura rubbed her hands together, a devil-like expression, nearly identical to Karma's, appeared on her face. Nagisa had a sudden urge to rush to Hayami and warn her of Nakamura's dangerous ideas. "She's such a tsundere and she never fools around. Oh, this will be fun," Nakamura cackled. "Hey Nagisa, do you think the maid outfit I bought for you would fit Rinka-chan?"

"You bought a maid outfit for me?" Nagisa yelped and jumped away. _Not again. I am so done with crossdressing._ Kayano just smiled sympathetically.

"Technically, Karma and I pooled our money for it." Nakamura paused, tapping a finger on her chin. "Speaking of Karma, how he's doing?"

* * *

Well, Karma was obviously teasing the hell out of Chiba with help from Okajima.

"TELL. US. SOMETHING!" Okajima yelled in his ear. Chiba made no movement except for covering his ears with his hands. "ANYTHING!"

"Hey Chiba, I actually have a way to make to speak," Karma said amusedly from his seat behind Chiba. He swatted Okajima away and whispered in Chiba's ear for a moment. Chiba looked disgruntled and horrified that Karma decided to blackmail him.

"So if you have a date, does it mean Hayami is out for grabs?" Okajima wondered out loud. "She has a nice bod-"

SLAM! There went Chiba's history textbook on Okajima's head.

"Ouch," Okajima winced, rubbing his head. He groaned, "I haven't even gone to the best part!"

Chiba held the history textbook in his hand, testing its weight. Okajima took the hint. "Ookay I'll be leaving now!" he screamed girlishly and bolted away. They could hear him screech, "When did Chiba become so violent!"

"When matters concern his precious Hayami, that is," Karma called after him. Chiba clenched his fists, but didn't object as that was basically the truth. Karma turned back to Chiba. "Okay, are you going to say something now? Or should I reveal _it_?" he asked, grinning cheekily.

Chiba flushed. "Fine. Have your way."

* * *

It was a normal day, or at least a normal day by their classroom's standards. Normal classes won't have PE lessons involving jumping around on a hill or trying to hit their PE teacher. When school ended, the girls of 3-E somehow persuaded Hayami to go out shopping with them. She had stubbornly said no until someone mentioned beef stroganoff, which basically baited Hayami to go with them.

So Chiba walked home alone until a group of girls from the main campus blocked his way. He frowned and tried to maneuver around them, but they didn't move.

"What do you want?" Chiba asked calmly, wondering if he had somehow offended them.

"Ami-chan, go for it!" a brown-haired girl energetically pushed a smaller girl in front of her. She looked nervous, big green eyes looking towards the floor and her high blonde pigtails swung from the force of the push.

"Err, ummm…" the girl whispered, blushing intensely.

"Come on!" All the girls around her hissed.

The girl, mustering up her courage, looked up and stared at Chiba's (not visible) eyes. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "E-excuse me, Chiba-kun, I don't know if you remember me, I'm Hiraoka Ami…"

Oh. She was one of his old classmates from his second year. Chiba had no idea how to react.

"Uh, hi, Hiraoka-san."

Hiraoka blushed even deeper. "Uhh, you know, I really really like you!" She blurted out. Under her friends' intense stares, she muttered, "Pleasewillyougooutwithme?"

"Sorry, I couldn't hear," Chiba said, an uneasy feeling twisting in his heart. He had an idea of what was about to happen… and he wasn't completely welcome to it.

"Chiba-kun… will you go out with me?" She asked hopefully, green eyes even wider.

 _No!_ Chiba's automatic response was. _How about Hayami-_

Another voice interrupted the first one. _Stop thinking about Hayami! This girl just confessed to you! Come on!_

But all Chiba could think of was Hayami confessing to him, eyes shining with hope, cheeks rosy with embarrassment. That was so not her, but somehow that made it ten times cuter than usual.

Wait… he thought Hayami was cute?

Seeing the boy didn't reply, Hiraoka muttered sadly, "Okay… I guess you don't want to…"

Immediately, her girl friends started glaring at him, sending vibes of "You made her cry!", "Go out with her or else!" and "You're going to die soon if you break her heart!"

Chiba held up his hands. He hated making people cry. "Okay okay don't cry! I _will_ go out with you!"

"Really?" the girl's eyes shone brightly. "YAY!" she squealed, jumping up and down excitedly.

It was only five seconds Chiba realized what he had done.

 _Oh hell no._

He was about to go on a date with someone he barely knew.

 _Rinka._

And why did her name float in front of his mind randomly again? And her given name too! They called each other by their surnames!

After agreeing on the place and time, they parted ways, Chiba's brow still furrowed in thought.

* * *

"So that's it?" Karma asked, his eyes glimpsing Hayami returning in the distance.

"Yeah," Chiba crossed his eyes, also noticing Hayami and avoided her gaze.

Meanwhile, Hayami stepped in the classroom, thinking, but Nakamura suddenly pounced on her.

" _Heyyy Rinka-chan~_ " she drawled. Hayami started walking away, slightly spooked. She suddenly caught Nagisa giving her a small sympathetic smile and mouthing _good luck_ at her.

Luck? Why would she need luck-

Nakamura's devil face answered everything.

"Wanna try this maid outfit for me?" she asked dangerously.

Hayami pointed her gun at Nakamura's forehead. "Go away."

"Wait, did you seriously draw out your gun? The hell?" Nakamura asked incredulously. "When did you become so violent?"

"I know right!" Okajima yelled. "The sniper duo is a force you must not offend! Chiba just hit me with a book!"

"I bet he has reasons," Nakamura muttered darkly. She turned back to Hayami. "Did you just want to shoot me?"

Hayami lowered her arm. "Not really. I was just shocked… and pissed off."

"Eh?" Nakamura changed her way of annoying Hayami. "Pissed off… at _what_?" She drawled.

Hayami blushed hotly. "None of your business, Nakamura." She strode past her coldly, hand still clenched on her pistol.

Karma and Chiba watched the scene from their seats. "Ooh, isn't this interesting," Karma grinned. "Both of our snipers get all hot and bothered because of one thing."

Nakamura smiled fondly. "Aww, Rinka-chan's jealous." She suddenly returned to her devil self. "Wait, you have to wear this maid outfit!"

Hayami didn't bother to answer, but Karma replied, "Hey, weren't we going to use it on Nagisa?"

"Don't you think our ice queen would be a better choice?" Nakamura grinned. Karma's golden eyes glittered, delighted at the thought of a new playtoy. Chiba's mind was suddenly invaded with pictures of Hayami in a maid outfit, holding a tray with a cake and smiling cutely. _Argh, what am I thinking?_

(Meanwhile, Nagisa tried valiantly to stop himself from feeling relieved that he was not going to wear that maid outfit. He failed.)

Karma smiled to himself. It was not only Hayami wearing a maid outfit that would be fun, but also her jealousy…

"So the date is scheduled at half past four after school today, at the newly opened café two blocks from the school?" Karma asked loudly, making sure Hayami heard. She stiffened, green eyes quickly darting to them.

"Yeah," Chiba muttered. "And I regret telling you this. You're going to stalk me with Nakamura, right?"

"No!" Karma appeared to be shocked that Chiba would make such an accusation, but both boys knew better. "Why would I do that?" _Yeah, I might not stalk him, but I bet Hayami would..._

Chiba didn't believe him. He sighed and massaged his head, wondering how had he gotten into this mess.

In her seat, Hayami heard everything. There was an unspoken understanding between her and Chiba, and that was they wished their relationship would remain professional. But there was nothing wrong with looking after her partner, making sure he wasn't distracted with petty love affairs?

 _And why would Chiba be distracted by love affairs?_

Hayami groaned. _I'm overreacting._

But yet, she was filled with the urge to follow Chiba and see what he would do. To see would he be drawn by that girl (whoever she was). And see would he open up around her like he did around Hayami.

 _To see whether I would be replaced by her._

Hayami reached this startling conclusion, and inexplicably, a fire began to burn in her veins. Jealousy consumed her and she let go of all her logic and her calmness. She wasn't going down without a good fight. She wasn't going to let her boy go.

Hayami gritted her teeth, her other hand slowly finding her rubber knife in the drawer and gripped it.

 _You better watch out._

Okuda and Nakamura, the girls who sat behind and in front of Hayami, felt a chill from her. Her expression was dark, and her eyes glinted coldly.

And in the second, both Okuda and Nakamura thought up another nickname for her.

Yandere Sniper.

* * *

 **A/N: I know the common usage of yandere is about a cute girl who gets psychotic and violent when it comes to their lover and Hayami is not the typical "cute" girl (call her that, you're dead) but I just thought it would be fun. I mean, she's called Tsundere Sniper, so why not another name? (Anyways I think she is a tsundere more than a yandere)**

 **Please read and review!**

 **Edit: Table of contents below**

 **Chapter 1: Yandere Sniper Part 1**

 **Chapter 2: Yandere Sniper Part 2**

 **Chapter 3: Yandere Sniper Part 2**

 **Chapter 4: Partners (a history of Chiba and Hayami's partnership)**

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Couple (a Koro Q fic about Chiba and Hayami switching bodies)**

 **Chapter 6: Happy Birthday, Chiba (Hayami wondering what to get for Chiba)**

 **Chapter 7: Was That? (Fuwa hears the sniper duo doing… something)**

 **Chapter 8: Red & Green (soulmate AU where you can't see your soulmate's eyes' colour until you meet them for the first time)**

 **Chapter 9: Happy Birthday, Hayami (Hayami gets sick and meets Chiba's family)**

 **Chapter 10: Fear (the sniper duo becomes worried for each other during the face-off with Gastro)**

 **Chapter 11: Eyes (Chiba ponders the eye contact he shares with Hayami)**

 **Chapter 12: Date (the sniper duo go on a date)**

 **Chapter 13: Practice (the receptionist at a shooting arcade thinks about the two teenagers he keeps on seeing)**


	2. Yandere Sniper Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize**

* * *

Yandere Sniper Part 2

After lunch, it was PE. Today 3-E focused on knifework.

Okuda and Nakamura shivered when they saw Hayami hold her knife.

"What do we do, Nakamura-san?" Okuda whispered frantically. "Hayami-san looks like she's going to kill anyone any minute now!"

"We have to keep an eye on her," Nakamura said in an unusually serious voice. "Geez, she's best in marksmanship in girls and third best in knifework. Chiba's date, whoever she is, better start running now."

"Okay, class!" Karasuma hollered to draw the class' attention. "After warming up, we'll do some basic exercises. Pair up. After that, you'll try to hit me using your rubber knives. If the whole class manages to hit me seven times, I'll let you off early. Let's get started!" he clapped his hands.

As usual, Chiba paired up with Hayami, who also noticed the dark aura coming off the green-eyed girl. "Hayami, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hayami replied, eyes still dark.

"Are you mad at me?" Chiba asked bluntly.

"Huh?" In a split second, Hayami looked confused. Then she smiled, but it sent chills down Chiba's spine instead of comforting him. "I'm not mad."

"Ookay." Chiba replied skeptically. He looked around to see if anyone else had the reason of Hayami's behavior, but Nakamura and Okuda only glared at him as if to say, "It's all your fault!"

The pair practiced hitting each other. Usually, Hayami won but Chiba was fine with that. What wasn't fine was that her bloodlust seemed a lot more than usual. And she looked really scary.

Chiba took a step backwards to avoid Hayami's attacks. She thrusted ruthlessly forward, jabbing the knife at him. Chiba countered with swiping his knife at her. With a few fake moves, Hayami zoomed on at him, jumping behind him and putting the knife at his neck. She could feel his Adam's apple bobble. She released him, smirking slightly.

"That was good." Chiba said. He turned to look at the other girl. "You're pretty feisty today."

Hayami grinned. "Yeah, I'm feeling energetic." The exercise just now used some of her bubbling energy and she didn't feel so restless now. She also felt slightly more cheerful.

Chiba wasn't bad at combat either. It was just Hayami was more agile than him so she usually got the upper hand. The boy charged at Hayami, arm outstretched. She dodged, trying to find a opening in his attack. She saw one, decided to take her chance and tried to slip out. Which was apparently a bad decision. Chiba immediately had an idea of what she was going to do, so he quickly blocked the opening, resulting in Hayami slamming on his chest.

"Are you okay?" Chiba asked quickly as his eyes flitted down.

The force of the slam made Chiba's bangs flutter and Hayami got a glimpse of his rarely shown eyes. Which quickly reduced Hayami into a pile of romantic goo for some reason.

"Mm. I'm okay." Hayami answered, refusing to look at him, and also mentally counting the times Chiba asked whether she was okay today. "I'm sorry." She apologized as she stepped away.

A few paces away, Karma and Okuda were dueling. The shy chemist was trying her best to hit Karma, but he always zoomed away at the last second. Karma was also avoiding her attacks without looking while he watched Chiba and Hayami.

"Hey, Okuda, they make a fine pair, do they?" Karma asked, facing Okuda again, readying to strike.

"Eh? W-well yeah-" Okuda stammered. Karma took advantage when she let her guard her down, and the tip of his knife skimmed over one of her pigtails. Okuda stepped back instinctively.

Karma withdrew his arm. "Okuda, you need to focus more. You can't be distracted easily."

"Okay!" Okuda nodded determinedly, ready to follow Karma's instructions. He was a complete master at fighting, and even though Okuda wasn't fond of violence she secretly admired his skills.

That did not stop her from feeling disgusted when Karma showed up with tubes of wasabi.

When the class finished practicing, they organized their plans to attack Karasuma, with Isogai as leader. Participating in this made Hayami's bloodlust go up again, and Nakamura took the chance to slide past her and whisper, "Are you going to stalk Chiba later?"

The girl smirked. "Huh, definitely." She gripped her knife as a sinister smile appeared on her face.

 _When did this girl get so possessive?_ Nakamura screamed. _Let's fear the Yandere Sniper. She's scary._

As expected, other people with decent knifework skills distracted Karasuma and surrounded him, while Isogai waited for the right moment to pounce in. Karasuma knew this tactic, it was old but it usually worked.

Karma and Kurahashi teamed up against Karasuma, one going in from left and one from right. Yada zoomed in at the middle. Karasuma blocked all their attacks, only to have Hayami's knife touch the back of his neck lightly, her eyes dark. Karasuma hadn't even sensed her coming, it was like Nagisa's assassination talent.

"One hit!" The students cheered as the others didn't waste any time and continued attacking. Isogai got two hits, Maehara got one, Karma and Nagisa also got one. There was only one hit left.

"Retreat!" Isogai panted and the class stepped away. Karasuma wiped sweat off his forehead; the students were improving greatly.

Most of the students were tired, especially those who excel in knifework, but they didn't lose their spirit. Isogai decided to approach with a different tactic, and everyone else agreed. "Formation number th-"

Out of nowhere, a shadow sailed over Karasuma. The rubber knife slashed over his scalp, the shadow did a somersault and landed perfectly in front of Karasuma, as light as a feather.

Class 3-E and Karasuma blinked. There was only one person who was capable of doing such a feat.

Hayami Rinka.

There she stood, looking completely unruffled as her classmates stared at her with jaws dropped.

Then she realized she had an audience and looked embarrassed. "Wait, we were supposed to go for it together? I didn't know… I couldn't hear Isogai. I was a bit too occupied…" she noticed everyone still staring at her. "It's not like I want to ditch everybody or anything!"

It was one of the longest sentences the class had heard Hayami say (except Chiba).

"Brilliant." Karasuma declared. "I didn't expect a sneak attack from you, especially after you had assisted the attempts so many times. Even with your training, you should get tired after that. Class dismissed."

Everybody was still in silence. Hayami was completely embarrassed. She had let her bloodlust control her again, and everyone might suspect she was against the class because of her actions. But apparently she was overthinking things again.

"That was so cool!" Okajima yelled.

"Yeah." Isogai praised with a smile on his face. "Really, you should teach me that trick sometime, Hayami. Although I'll never be as agile as you."

Hayami just went redder, muttered an unintelligible reply and trekked up the hill to the campus, all alone. Chiba followed after her.

"You're a bit different today," Chiba began.

Silence. Hayami folded her arms together; it wasn't like she was mad, she just did it automatically. Then-

"I don't want to talk to you, Chiba."

The boy stopped walking, and watched Hayami's back. At times like this, Chiba knew he should not pry. She needed some time to herself.

But what had he done wrong? Chiba mentally rewinded the times they shared. He hadn't done anything offensive, didn't try to stick in her business. Maybe she was angry that he seemed so cold? But he thought she was okay with their minimal conversation. First were the accusing glares from Nakamura and Okuda, now Hayami's weird behavior. Why were girls so hard to understand?

Walking behind, Nakamura pulled Karma beside and whispered, "Hey Karma, can I ask you for a favour…"

* * *

"Target H spotted, Officer N." Karma peeked out from behind a tree.

"Stop with those code names, will ya?" Nakamura hissed back, body pressed against Karma. "I only asked you to come along because Rinka-chan might need some physical restraints."

"Okay." Karma replied playfully. He ducked behind the tree as Hayami hid behind another tree a few paces in front of them. The girl had sunglasses on, hair let down, with a white tank top and short jeans. There was a small brown bag at her hip. A pistol, probably loaded with colour pellets, was jammed in one of the jean pockets. She grabbed her rubber knife, two hair bands around her wrists.

Nakamura peeked out sneakily and took a picture of the unsuspecting Hayami. _Wow, she looks like Bitch-sensei._ Nakamura heard that Hayami wore her hair in pigtails was because if she let her hair down her hairstyle would be identical to Bitch-sensei's. And she didn't like to be compared to what the class dubbed as a "bitch".

Meanwhile, Hayami waited for Chiba to arrive. She knew where he lived, and had assumed he would follow a particular path so there she waited. She had changed her appearance a little so she won't be so easily recognized (there was only one girl who had brownish orange short pigtails in the whole town).

 _It's him!_ She thought as Chiba, in casual clothes and wearing a beanie, walked down the street, oblivious to the three people spying on him. Actually Chiba was trying to discreetly see if anyone was stalking him. His bangs were an added bonus as no one could see where he was looking. Chiba had busted Okajima earlier so there was a high chance there would be more people. He had specifically observed Karma and Nakamura's actions before school ended, knowing those two would most probably be stalking him. But they didn't even talk to each other and went separate ways. That didn't mean Chiba should let his guard down though.

Hayami watched as Chiba tugged his beanie down self consciously. She decided not to look until she heard the other girl arrive, because she knew Chiba was very observant. She tried to make herself as small as possible. Nakamura and Karma mirrored Hayami's actions.

Meanwhile Chiba sighed. He kept reminding himself he was only doing this because he was a nice person. And to be honest, he was more concerned about his sniping partner than the date. Both he and Hayami were introverts, but they opened up to each other, if ever so slightly. Her recent actions worried him. They were always there together, backing each other up, no matter in assassination or studies, and because of this partnership they both had a certain level of fondness for each other. They never said it out loud, but they both knew it. People always thought they could communicate without words, maybe they were right. Or maybe they weren't.

" _I don't want to talk to you."_

Chiba's heart clenched. Actually, he was quite hurt by that. He had a vague feeling that it had something to do with him, and he was mystified yet filled with guilt. It was bad enough to hurt Hayami but it was worse to not know what he did to hurt her.

"Chiba-kun!" A cheery voice yelled, and Hiraoka ran to him excitedly, pigtails bouncing with every step. Her long, light blue dress had a midnight blue ribbon tied around the waist, which fluttered in the breeze.

Hayami's bloodlust slowly began to rise, but she forced herself to keep control of her emotions.

"Uh. Hi." Chiba replied after a pause, having no idea what to say as it was his first date and he wasn't comfortable around most people. People had told him many, _many_ times he was so socially awkward, and he should try to open up to more people. But they usually forced him out of his comfort zone which just made him shy even more away from people… soon, he was basically mute.

"Did I keep you waiting for long?" Hiraoka asked brightly.

"Um, no. You said we would meet here to walk to the café ten minutes before half past four, and we were both on time." Chiba had no idea whatsoever why she was asking him. Was she trying to be polite?

Meanwhile, Nakamura resisted the urge to facepalm. " _He's supposed to say 'Oh, not really, I just arrived here too!' What an idiot_." She mouthed to Karma, before shaking her head slightly. " _That's a classic date starter line!"_

The light in Hiraoka's eyes dimmed ever so slightly. There was even more awkward silence until Chiba managed to say, "Well let's go."

"Okay." The girl replied and they walked down the street, side by side.

Hayami waited for a few seconds before poking her head out, green eyes glaring at the two walking. Although there was a gap between them, she felt they were too close. Too close for her standards, anyway. Both Nakamura and Karma saw Chiba trying to edge away discreetly, and succeeding. Obviously Chiba wasn't feeling very comfortable.

After deeming it was safe, Hayami left her hiding place behind the tree and followed them, back sliding against the wall and ducking behind things that appeared on the street.

"Her butt must be polishing that wall nicely," Karma observed, Nakamura still squished against him. "Hey, will you get off?"

"Okay." Nakamura stepped away. She too, was dressed in casual clothes, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail similar to Yada's to make her less recognizable, even just a bit. Meanwhile Karma hadn't bothered to disguise himself, saying he'll "silence any witnesses".

Nakamura was starting to regret bringing him along.

There were a couple of things you should know before interacting with Chiba.

One, don't ask him any questions. Or better, don't talk at all.

Two, don't invade his private space. He would feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Three, don't ask about his eyes or hairstyle. It takes a certain amount of trust for him to reveal.

A very isolated life, but he's okay with it. After all, every time he talked, people wouldn't understand him or ask him to speak louder.

Hiraoka knew he was shy, and awkwardly decided to break the ice.

"Soo… Chiba-kun, how's life in Class E?" she asked.

Rule one, don't ask questions. So much for that.

He waited a beat before answering. "It's not too bad."

Hiraoka looked slightly confused. Chiba didn't blame her. The main campus students thought life in Class E was terrible and they would rather die than go into Class E, but actually everyone in 3-E were having the time of their lives. They get to kill their teacher, learn how to kill people and most of all their teacher was the best they'd ever had.

"Okay…" The girl suddenly jumped. "Eh? What are you doing here?" she hissed loudly.

The same girls who had cornered Chiba when he was asked out were hiding in the bushes along the street. One winked and mouthed, "Go for it!"

Chiba was even more embarrassed. So was Hiraoka. "Hey, stop it!" she whined.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Chiba. "My friends are a bit… hyper."

Chiba nearly snorted. "It's fine," he replied, remembering how _his_ classmates had behaved.

 _Huh, so she has followers too,_ Hayami thought, glaring at the girls. She saw that girl whisper something to Chiba and he replied!

She had no reason to get mad. He was just talking. It was insane for her to not let him talk. It was his right and what the hell did she have to do with that?

Hayami was not one to act before thinking. She always planned her moves carefully, but now, she was completely controlled by her runaway emotions. Now she just wanted to slaughter everyone who got in her way.

Yup. Totally psychotic even for a member of 3-E.

As soon as Chiba and Hiraoka turned around the corner, Hayami saw there was no way she could sneak past the girls, who were still giggling, without looking suspicious.

 _Guess it's time for a straightforward approach._ Hayami smirked, eyes glittering wickedly behind the sunglasses.

* * *

"Squee! IT'S JUST FREAKIN ADORABLE!"

"I know right!" the girl next to her gushed. "Ami-chan is so cute and happy!"

"Maybe she and Chiba-kun would be a good matc-"

The girls blinked. Seemingly out of nowhere, a confident girl strode out, reddish-orange hair flying behind her. The short jeans she wore emphasized her long and creamy legs, and a hand reached out to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

The girls gaped at her, stunned. Whoever she was, she was _gorgeous._

Peeking out behind a wall, Nakamura and Karma goggled at Hayami.

"What the _heck._ " Was all Nakamura got out, eyes as wide as saucers. Karma did his signature smirk and took a photo.

"She's pretty good at channeling Bitch-sensei." Karma commented. "I'm impressed."

" _That. Is. SO NOT LIKE HER!_ " Nakamura rambled. "Geez. But holy _shit_ she is good at this."

Hayami's heart was beating quickly, but not because of nervousness. The adrenaline rush and the urge to punch something was too much for her, and she liked seeing the girls look at her in awe. _Fear me!_ She couldn't help but think. She couldn't care less about how deranged her state of mind was in. She was completely crazy by now.

She flashed them a look, bright green eyes concealed by the shades. A smirk appeared on her face, she flipped her hair in a "bitch, I'm fabulous" way. Then heart pounding quickly than ever, she walked away.

Even Karma was flabbergasted.

"That was…" Nakamura began.

"So Bitch-sensei." Karma finished.

There was a pause.

"But that was kinda awesome." Nakamura said, eyes tracing Hayami's back.

"It'll make some good blackmail material," Karma thought out loud as he scrolled through the pictures in his phone. As if suddenly reminded, he tugged Nakamura's sleeve. "We gotta go, she's almost out of sight."

* * *

Bitch-sensei had officially corrupted Hayami.

Hayami _hated_ being the center of attention! Like Chiba, she preferred to blend in with everyone. There was this time when Sugaya drew a sketch of her for some reason and she had looked at him bizarrely. She was kinda creeped out at the fact someone spent the whole lesson looking at her and then drawing her. It was bad enough that Okajima sat next to her and kept looking at her in a perverted way. And now even Sugaya?! She thought he viewed Kataoka as the most beautiful girl in an artistic sense (she knew he had no romantic feelings towards Kataoka).

And what possessed her to _flip_ her hair? She blamed Yada and Kurahashi for dragging her to Bitch-sensei's lesson on seducing men. So this is what you get when your two closest female friends are Bitch-sensei's worshippers.

She originally had her hair down, but after Kurahashi mentioned it looked like Bitch-sensei's hairstyle, she immediately changed it to her pigtails. This was bad enough. At the school trip, she let her hair down, and Nakamura commented that if her hair was blonde and her eyes were blue she would _really_ resemble Bitch-sensei. She said their eyes also looked a bit similar. This was worse. Then when Bitch-sensei got mad for some reason, Kataoka said Bitch-sensei was behaving very childishly and said Hayami was even more mature than Bitch-sensei despite the age difference. Which prompted Bitch-sensei to go on a rant about how she was more "adult" than Hayami in a physical way and concluded Hayami would never be as good at seducing men as Bitch-sensei. Hayami gave Bitch-sensei one of her usual cold glares, thinking she would never use her body like that.

Well look what happened?

Hayami groaned, face flushed with embarrassment and humiliation. If anyone saw her right now, she would be immediately downgraded to a common bitch. How could she have lost her cool like that? That was the worst thing she'd ever done.

In front of her, Chiba and his date were oblivious to Hayami's "bitchy" performance as they neared the café.

Chiba watched as Hiraoka subtly slid next to him in an attempt to get closer.

Rule two: don't invade his private space. Definitely broken.

He thought about when he and Hayami interacted. They always kept their distance, but for some reason, even without talking, they could understand each other. Maybe they had similar minds.

But even he couldn't understand what was going on in her mind now. The way her emerald eyes stared at him coldly for a second before flitting away. The way she walked stiffly away from him. The way her fingers twisted the fabric of her skirt when she was agitated.

Yeah, he noticed a lot about his sniping partner. Chiba was just really observant.

Hayami, regaining her composure, watched as Chiba and that girl walk into the café. Her heart sank. How was she going to follow them now? She regretted acting on impulse and never thought thoroughly about her so called "plan".

Nakamura and Karma shared a sneaky glance, then they both pounced on Hayami together. The girl shrieked and tried to hit them, before realizing it was only her two nosy classmates.

"Shh, it's just us." Nakamura hissed.

"We know everything, Hayami." Karma grinned dangerously and pulled Hayami's sunglasses off, revealing her eyes which were narrowed at them.

"What are you two doing here?" Hayami asked, annoyed that people interrupted her and also embarrassed as it was kind of (painfully) obvious about what she was doing.

"Well what are _you_ doing here?" Nakamura shot back. She patted Hayami's shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone else knows you're stalking Chiba."

"I wasn't stalking him!" Hayami defended herself feebly, face red.

Karma leaned forward. "Oh, and we're supposed to believe that?" The corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk. "It's no use lying to us."

By that time, both Nakamura and Karma had huge Cheshire cat grins. And Hayami knew she screwed up by letting them discovering what she was doing.

"We'll assist you in your stalking." Nakamura offered.

"I told you, I wasn't stalk-"

Karma snorted. "We'll talk about that later. For now, we'll sneak into the café. I have backups in there."

 _How many people are stalking Chiba?_ Hayami screamed inside her mind.

"But how do we do that unnoticed?" Hayami asked, deciding to go with the plan because it was no use arguing with Karma. Besides, she really needed to get in the café.

"We'll sacrifice ourselves since Chiba knows we would probably be stalking him. We'll cover you." Nakamura said. Then she sighed melodramatically. "Oh, the things I do for my ships!"

"Fine." Hayami grudgingly agreed. "But can I at least fix my hair?"

"Nope." Karma and Nakamura said together.

* * *

Another awkward silence occurred when Chiba and Hiraoka sat down. The café was nicely decorated, with natural light and plants in pots hanging from the ceiling. Chiba's architect eye noticed everything.

Suddenly, a flash of red and gold caught his eye. Immediately, he jerked his eyes towards the door, where he could clearly see Karma and Nakamura walking side by side. Chiba wanted to facepalm. Could they be even more obvious? Even Nakamura's ponytail wasn't helping things.

In reality, Hayami was squashed between them. Karma had assumed Chiba wouldn't see Hayami if she was sandwiched by him and Nakamura from the angle he was looking at. Hayami walked stiffly, hoping Chiba wouldn't notice her.

The trio reached a table near the corner with two couches on the sides. To Hayami's surprise, she saw Maehara and Isogai chatting, both seated on one couch.

"Yo!" Maehara greeted them. "I know you originally asked me, but Isogai wanted to check out the café for some comparison to the café he worked at, so I brought him along." Then his eyes widened. Isogai followed where his friend was looking at and his eyes widened too. "Wait, is that-"

"Hayami?" Maehara yelled a bit too loudly. His eyes scanned over her let down hair, top, jeans and blinked once, as if she was a hallucination.

"Shh!" Both Karma and Nakamura hissed, the latter waving her hands like a windmill. "He doesn't know!" Karma whispered angrily.

"Whoops, sorry." Maehara replied sheepishly. "At least we're facing Chiba's back so he couldn't see us. We'll tell you when he looks around."

"Come and sit down." Isogai said. The three followed and sat down on the couch opposite to the boys' couch, with Hayami still in the middle, Karma and Nakamura by her side. Hayami was feeling even more embarrassed by every second.

"So Hayami's stalking Chiba too?" Maehara asked, making sure his voice was lower this time. "Wow."

"Technically, I would say it was part-stalking, part-going-yandere." Karma said, grinning.

"Oooh!" Maehara wolf whistled. "This basically confirms the ship!"

"I-it's n-not like that!" Hayami stuttered. "You guys got the wrong idea!"

"Still a tsundere, I see." Karma teased.

"Then tell us why you are really here," Isogai asked playfully. Hayami wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Even Mr. Ikemen Isogai was against her! She had no hope!

There was a tense silence as all four stared at Hayami.

"Well," Hayami began reluctantly. "Since Chiba and I work together, I thought he might be distracted with this… _date_ …" Hayami cringed before resuming. "So I just wanted to make sure he's not too distracted so we could continue to try to kill Koro-sensei-"

"Cut the BS, please." Maehara said with an I-don't-believe-you-at-all look. He yawned. "That was so boring."

"..." Hayami couldn't think of anything to reply and just stared at the table. The wooden lines on the table suddenly seemed so interesting. The way they twisted, curved…

"Just admit you like Chiba," Nakamura prompted.

Hayami refused to speak. She stared at the lines more intently. The way some lines were straight and some were circles…

"Come on." Karma said, poking her shoulder.

The seconds ticked past. Hayami remained motionless. She already admitted to herself that she had a crush on Chiba but revealing that would be a completely different matter, especially to Karma and Nakamura, the class devils. She didn't knew how to get out of their tight grasp.

"He's looking!" Maehara hissed. Isogai pulled him up sharply and the two pretended to be holding a conversation. Nakamura immediately pushed Hayami down and hid her under the table, ignoring her muffled cries of surprise.

Between Karma's legs, Hayami could vaguely see Chiba turn around, lean down and picked something up before handing it to his smiling date.

 _Huh… such a gentleman._

Blood roared in her veins and her pupils contracted to slits. Her whole body tensed up. She suddenly felt like she could overturn the table she was hiding under.

"You can get up now." Nakamura said. Hayami stood up and sat back down, expression dark. All four felt a chill down their spines and immediately decided not to offend her.

"Umm, Hayami?" Isogai asked cautiously, knowing he was treading on thin ice.

They watched the motionless girl with bated breaths. Suddenly, she jammed her hand in her pocket and gripped the gun tightly that they thought the gun might break.

 _I have a bad feeling about this…_ Maehara thought, reminded of Okano when she got really angry.

She looked up, and the intensity of her glare was enough to pierce people. Maehara and Isogai gulped nervously and avoided looking into her killer eyes.

"At least you can see why we call her a yandere." Nakamura laughed weakly.

* * *

After ordering their food, there was yet another silence.

Hiraoka accidentally pushed her fork off the table in her nervousness, and it skidded off to somewhere behind Chiba's chair. He picked it up, she thanked him and asked the waiter to give her a new fork. Other than that, there was no interaction between them.

Hiraoka twisted her fingers together. This wasn't going to work if neither of them would speak! She would live with everlasting regret! This was Chiba Ryuunosuke, this really quiet but hot guy whom she instantly fell in love with when he saw his half-exposed eyes in the yearbook! She was just surfing through the yearbook when she just saw him… and it was love at first sight.

She felt really bad that she hadn't noticed him when he was back in her class.

Chiba was sure the girl was pretty let down by him. He was antisocial, had scary eyes, and he liked shooting targets using a rifle. At least, that was what appeared on the surface. To be honest, he didn't really know why she liked him.

But he felt like he should do something. He tried to think of topics, but since he rarely spoke, he didn't know what to talk about.

"So, Hiraoka-san…" She perked up when she heard her name. "I hope I don't sound too inquisitive, but why did you choose to hang out with me, a member of 3-E? Won't people look down on you or something?"

"Well, when other people say 3-E is filled with mean, rebellious people, I didn't really believe them." Hiraoka replied. "Because you were in my class, and so were other people who got down into Class E, and you didn't seem to fit that category. Besides…" She started, but stopped and blushed furiously.

"Hmm? Besides what?" Chiba asked.

"Nothing." She whispered, shy eyes looking up at him before quickly darting away. _Idiot!_ She scolded herself, heart pounding. _You nearly said you didn't care whether he was in 3-E because you liked him… that would be so cheesy…_

The way Hiraoka's eyes darted away reminded Chiba of the way Hayami's eyes would flit away. Sometimes, he would catch her staring at him when he practiced, which he assumed was out of respect, and she would look away. Or at other times, when they spent time together, like sitting on a bench doing nothing, she would sneak glances at him. Chiba honestly didn't know how to think of it, because he kind of liked the attention she was giving him, but he also didn't like people looking at him.

Speaking of which, Hiraoka's eyes were lighter than Hayami's. Hiraoka's eyes were more yellow-green than green, and were always filled with bubbly excitement. Meanwhile, Hayami's eyes looked like clear emeralds, and at first you would think they were cold and indifferent, but throughout the term, Chiba discovered there were more to them. They narrowed when she was concentrating, shone slightly when she was excited, and filled with a firey passion when they were paintballing. Chiba was actually quite fascinated with Hayami's eyes.

Meanwhile back in that corner, Maehara stared at Chiba and Hiraoka, looking slightly disgusted. Isogai gave him a questioning look, and Maehara whispered in his ear, "I swear I just saw Chiba look into that girl's eyes!"

Hayami heard. She wondered if her original suspicions were valid, about someone replacing her. But that was silly, she was his partner, he couldn't replace her! But still she felt irritated. Hayami wasn't exactly comfortable with making eye contact all the time when speaking to people, but since Chiba hid his eyes she was okay with speaking to him. But because of that she had no idea what he was looking at.

Isogai replied with, "Crap! Eye contact!", shooting furtive glances at Hayami. Hayami clenched her teeth; the boys were discussing something which she had a bad feeling about. She decided she wouldn't bear this anymore when she saw Nakamura nod slightly to Karma, as if sending him a secret sign. Something would break inside her soon.

 _ALL HELL BREAK LOOSE!_

Hayami grabbed her gun and tried to jump up, but Karma stopped her by pinning her arms together. She struggled, but he was too strong.

 _I...must...kill...HER!_

She slammed her elbow into Karma's gut, which wasn't very effective. Blinded by fury and jealousy, she continued to struggle with all her might in a very uncivilised fashion. Realizing he had the hand which was holding the gun trapped, Hayami wrestled her other arm out and grabbed the nearest thing, which was a fork (thankfully there weren't any knives). Nakamura tried to stop her, but Hayami hit her in the face violently. Nakamura rubbed her nose before trying to grab her arm again.

Now Hayami had completely lost her sanity. Why would she care if she hurt other people? Why would she care how crazy she seemed like? She just wanted to prove that no one, _no one_ , would go near her Chiba and get away with it. Trap him and keep him forever with her.

 _He's mine._

Her eyes were nearly red with bloodlust. She grabbed the fork and started to stab Karma's stomach repeatedly. Karma winced, trying to pin her other arm. She stabbed the fork again viciously and Karma bit his lip in pain. _That actually hurt. I have to stop her before she seriously injures someone. But I couldn't hurt her too much._ Nakamura leaned across to try to help Karma, but Hayami tossed her head and her hair hit Nakamura's face, blinding her temporarily. Out of choices, Nakamura tried to wrap her arms around Hayami's neck.

Maehara and Isogai were watching the scene with the same "WTF?!" faces.

"What am I seeing right now?" Isogai asked, bewildered.

"I don't know, bro." Maehara answered, sounding lost.

Karma had finally got hold of the fork and yanked it out of Hayami's hand, her fist thumping uselessly on his chest. With a grunt, Hayami's hand slithered to her bag and opened it one-handedly, the other hand still pinned by Karma. She triumphantly drew out a pair of scissors.

A pair of scissors. As in two sharp blades which could cause a lot of damage and bloody scenes. The blood drained from Maehara's face, realizing how serious of a yandere Hayami was.

"Watch out! He's looking!" Isogai said sharply. Hayami, Karma and Nakamura froze, before Hayami attempted to stab Karma with the scissors. Karma grabbed her wrist and held it firmly, so she couldn't move. Hayami gasped in shock and attempted to free both of her arms. Nakamura took advantage of this and put a hand over her mouth, her feet trying to stable Hayami's thrashing feet.

"This is really weird," Maehara muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Hiraoka, who sat on the opposite of Chiba, saw a few people who appeared to be fighting violently. She looked at them, head tilted to one side. Chiba saw her gaze, and turned around to see what she was looking at.

He saw Maehara looking a bit spooked, Isogai yelling something, and Karma and Nakamura appeared to be pushing each other. Chiba raised an eyebrow. Karma and Nakamura were fighting? Why would they fight? Maybe over a photo they had taken of him or something?

When Chiba turned away, Hayami managed to free herself, but the scissors clattered uselessly to the floor. She punched Karma's arm which was pinning her arm, freed her arm and her gun. Grinning evilly, she leaned over the seat and prepared to shoot-

"No!" Nakamura wrapped her arms around Hayami's torso, holding her back. The girl struggled to free herself. "You mustn't lose control!" Nakamura bawled. "YOU KNOW YOU'RE INSANE!"

Karma blocked her, wiping sweat from his forehead. Hayami ignored both Nakamura and Karma, eyes zeroing on only one spot- her target, who was still smiling placidly at Chiba.

 _GET AWAY FROM HIM OR ELSE._

Hayami's fingers touched the trigger, but Karma jerked her hands up, making her miss and the paintball landed on the ceiling. She grunted in frustration before attempting to shoot again. Karma twisted her hand, not enough to hurt her but enough to cause pain. She crunched her heel down at Nakamura's foot, sending the other girl howling with pain and continued to punch Karma's arm.

Chiba heard the sound of a gun shooting. The guns used in their Assassination Classroom. He wasn't sure as the chattering of people might have covered it up. He averted his eyes to his extreme right and saw a red paintball on the ceiling. He froze. Someone from his class had definitely shot a paintball. The question wasn't who, but why. Maybe it was an accident?

"Why are you so violent!" Nakamura hissed angrily. "Why can't you just make poisons like Okuda?"

"Don't give her any ideas!" Maehara yelped.

Hayami tried to aim again, but her hands were shaking for some reason. She saw Karma trying to subdue her again, and grabbed her knife, so she was armed with both a gun and a rubber knife. To be honest, a rubber knife wouldn't do much damage, but since Hayami wasn't insane enough to want a real knife so she got her rubber one. She swung the knife at Karma, trying to ward him off. Her aim was sloppy, but she didn't care. She pressed her finger against the trigger before something crashed into her, sending her toppling backwards, right into Karma who immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"THIS IS CRAZY!" Maehara gasped, joining the fight. "What the hell is this? Hayami, regain your sanity!" He aided Karma in pinning Hayami's limbs to her body. The girl thrashed wildly, trying in vain to free herself. _Go away! I won't let you stop me!_ Hayami gritted her teeth as thoughts swarm through her mind.

She thought about the times she and Chiba managed to successfully shoot down a target. The times when they bumped their arms together in celebration. The time when she was depressed because she'd gotten into 3-E, and he had comforted her and even hugged her. That second when she realized she had feelings for him, and didn't want him to go. She felt a delicious thrill everytime she thought about him.

 _Once I've chosen my target, I never miss._

 _Never._

"Is she calm?" Nakamura whispered, panting, seeing Hayami was silent and limp in Karma's grip. Her hair was messed up, cheeks too red and her eyes were too dim. It was like a grey fog clouding her normally bright eyes. Or more appropriately, a haze of bloodlust was blinding her.

"We can't let our guard down." Isogai said seriously, observing Hayami with a determined expression.

"Geez, she can really kill people," Maehara muttered, wondering how did he get into this mess.

 _...Kill…?_

That single word triggered emotions inside Hayami. She leapt up but was quickly trapped by Karma. "Huh, never thought I'll fight you like this." Karma panted slightly, hot breath hitting Hayami's face. Maehara pressed his body against Karma's, so Hayami was further squished. Nakamura's brows furrowed as she frantically thought of an idea, panicked blue eyes darting back and forth.

"Okay, the girl is looking over!" Isogai called anxiously. "We probably look really suspicious now. Do something!"

"Hayami, do you think Chiba would like you if you would kill him?" Maehara tried to convince the yandere sniper to calm down. "Who would like someone who's always offending them?"

"Okano," Isogai coughed delicately into his hand.

Maehara ignored him. "Anyway, who would want a psycho for a girlfriend?! You _do_ know you're completely deranged, right?" He said in a rush.

This made Hayami pause and think. She wondered if she had been doing the right thing. But that was stupid, because deep, deep down she knew what she was doing was wrong. She was selfish and wanted to keep Chiba to herself. But was it the right way to do so? Hayami was suddenly filled with a tsunami of guilt and she froze, not knowing what to do. At that second, Nakamura raised her bag and thumped it on the girl's head and she passed out, head lolling uselessly.

"Well that was taken care of," Nakamura wheezed, out of breath. The boys let out a collective sigh of relief.

"I never thought she'll be this good at combat," Karma said, flexing his muscles.

"She's just pissed off." Nakamura moved Hayami so her head laid on the table. She peered at Hayami's face. "She looks a lot more peaceful when she's unconscious."

"Nobody is more violent than a pissed off female." Maehara remarked as he sat back next to Isogai.

"Now, the problem is how do we tell her she just attacked us, stabbed Karma with a fork, tried to stab everyone with a pair of scissors, tried to kill Chiba's date and almost broke my nose." Nakamura said, listing the things their resident yandere did with her fingers.

"Oh, that'll be easy." Karma said casually.

There was a pause. "Are you being sarcastic, Karma?" Isogai asked.

A laugh sounded from his lips. "No." Karma shook Hayami's shoulders. "Wakey wakey Miss Tsundere-slash-yandere."

"What if she gets mad again?" Isogai whispered to Maehara. The other boy shrugged. "I dunno, but it'll probably result in a bloody 'accident'."

"Huh?" Hayami woke up groggily, pushing her tangled hair away from her face. She felt several bruises on her wrist and arms. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and she felt like a madwoman living on caffeine. _What happened to me? What happened to my so called "professionalism"?_

"Oh, you're back!" Isogai said warmly, but she could detect a hint of wariness in his voice. Hayami saw Maehara and Nakamura look at her like she was a ticking time bomb. She was confused for a second then the dam broke and memories started rushing back in. She remembered the struggle with Karma, her desperate shooting attempts. She saw a red splat on the ceiling and she felt uneasy, knowing she had something to do with it. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"What did I do?" she asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"Well, you attacked us, stabbed me with a fork, tried to stab me with a pair of scissors, tried to shoot Chiba's date, hit Nakamura in the nose, and tried to hit me with a rubber knife." Karma said easily, reclining on the couch.

"Karma!" Isogai hissed.

But the damage was done. Hayami gaped at them, eyes filled with horror at what she did.

"Well, it could be worse." Maehara tried to ease the tension. "I mean, you could have shot Chiba's date but you missed and shot the ceiling."

Hayami looked even more horrified. "Not helping," Nakamura muttered.

They watched the sniper's cheeks grow redder and redder until she looked like she was going to explode. Then the colour seeped from her cheeks and she became deathly pale as what the boys said sunk in. Hayami couldn't think, let alone form a full sentence.

So she said the only word she was able to.

"Shoot."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! So Hayami's gone yandere but Chiba doesn't know. What would happen next?**

 **By the way, I'm thinking of expanding this to a ChibaHaya oneshot/drabble series when I finish the last chapter of Yandere Sniper. So what do you all think?**

 **As always, please read and review!**


	3. Yandere Sniper Part 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **Recap of last chapter: Hayami goes yandere and hurts Nakamura and Karma in the progress. Chiba is oblivious to Hayami's actions and his stalking classmates. When Hayami goes back to normal, what happens now?**

* * *

Yandere Sniper Part 3

"Shoot."

"Yeah, right." Maehara said. "You were completely insane."

"Argh." Hayami groaned, burying her head in her arms. "Shoot. Shoot. _Shoot._ " She fidgeted with every word.

"You can say 'shit'." Nakamura offered. "Because you screwed up big time."

There was a pause. "I don't cuss like you," came Hayami's muffled voice.

Hayami was beyond horrified. She couldn't believe what she did just now, how she had let go of logic and sense and let her be a slave to her emotions. She had completely destroyed her reputation single-handedly. Because of a date. Because of a freakin _boy._

Yup. That single boy who messed up her emotions but also somehow made her life ten times more interesting.

"You said that out loud, y'know." Karma said, grinning. "ChibaHaya confirmed."

Hayami couldn't even find strength to cringe at the (horrendous) ship name the class gave to her and Chiba.

"That was literally the definition of 'crush'." Nakamura said. "Aww! The little tsundere finally admitted it!" She cooed.

Hayami couldn't think how she could make up to everyone. She couldn't thank Karma and Nakamura enough for stopping her. But she screwed up. She royally screwed up and there was no going back.

"People get angry now and then." Nakamura tried to comfort the girl.

"Normal people won't try to attack people." Hayami mumbled.

"It's okay to have feelings." Maehara supplied helpfully.

"So you say I have no feelings?" Hayami groaned. She lifted her tired face up. "I've reduced myself to such low standards. I used my skills for my own selfish desires. I nearly hurt someone."

"You hurt me." Nakamura said, pointing to her nose.

Hayami sighed. "How can face anyone after this? I don't deserve to be a sniper, or an assassin, or a student in this assassination classroom. I apologize for my faults."

Bad points about the sniper combo: when they make mistakes, they think it's all their fault and immediately activates their extreme self-blaming mode.

"It's okay." Isogai said with a comforting smile. "Everyone makes mistakes now and then. We'll keep this a secret, okay?"

There was silence. Hayami saw Isogai glare at Nakamura and Karma.

"Okay." Nakamura, Karma and Maehara agreed, somewhat grudgingly.

 _Thank goodness for Isogai!_ Hayami silently praised the class representative.

"I'm really sorry for bothering all of you." Hayami said humbly with her head down. "Especially you, Karma. And I thank you for stopping me from doing crazy stuff."

"Apology accepted," Karma said good-naturally.

"You talk a lot more when you're in post-yandere mode," Nakamura said thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Koro-sensei, in his human disguise, appeared between Isogai and Maehara. The boys quickly scooted away to make space for him.

"Hayami-san, I knew what happened just now…" Koro-sensei began gravely. Hayami lowered head, preparing herself for a black-faced Koro-sensei threatening to hurt her family like he did to Terasaka. And probably a lecture.

"I'm really sorry," she blurted out. "I shouldn't have done that. I _really_ shouldn't have done that. Koro-sensei, I promise to have better control over my emotions. This whole thing..." She opened her mouth as if to say more things but no words came. Hayami flushed. "This really stupid thing I've done. This… yandere thing won't happen again, I swear!" She gestured lamely with her hands.

Maehara and Isogai stared at her like she'd grown two heads.

"You spoke more than three sentences!" Maehara whispered loudly and looked at Hayami in awe. "I never thought I'll live to see that day!"

"It's okay, Hayami-san." Koro-sensei said. "But Maehara-kun is also right. You are not able to speak easily, so you express your feelings through actions. School is for learning and preparing you for the world, but you not only learn knowledge, but also cooperation and communication skills. When you graduate, you will find yourselves always have to present your ideas at work and you have to communicate with your colleagues. Therefore, communication is a very important skill. However," Koro-sensei reached out a tentacle and patted Hayami's head. "I know you prefer to be silent, and I won't completely force you out of your comfort zone. But as I always say, an assassin always needs a second blade. Your strength is sniping, but you can't always hide in the bushes. Someone might find you, and you would need an excuse. This is when communication comes in. So, I hope you would try to improve your communications on your own. But as always, you can always come to me or the other teachers for help, as we are your teacher and we should guide you."

"I understand," Hayami said, suddenly feeling very small for some reason.

"Now…" Koro-sensei said, pausing for dramatic effect. "That's done with, and now we can move forward to something more important…"

His students raised their eyebrows, wondering what could be more important.

"Tell me all about the love scandal!" Koro-sensei shrieked. He started writing quickly in his notebook. "All of my waiting and patience has paid off! The sniper ship is official!"

"Koro-sensei, you talk really loudly…" Nakamura said, sweatdropping.

"My matchmaking attempts had finally succeeded!" Koro-sensei continued loudly, not allowing anyone else to interrupt. "I helped to make Chiba-kun and Hayami-san together! Hayami-san, you must invite me to your wedding! And then I must be the godfather of your children! And grandchildren! And great-grandchildren!"

"..." Everyone stared at their teacher. "He sure thinks in the long run." Maehara whispered. "And _when_ did you contribute to matchmaking the ship?"

"And aren't we supposed to kill you before graduation?" Hayami asked in her usual cool voice, ignoring Maehara's low whispers.

"Well that should be what you planned, but you'll never kill me," Koro-sensei grinned, and green stripes appeared on his face. "Nurufufufu!"

"I'm pretty sure Chiba noticed everyone who's spying on him by now." Maehara said, trying to draw attention to himself again. "What _is_ the point?"

"To stop yanderes, of course." Karma drawled. Hayami went red again, but knew Karma was only teasing her. She quietly tied her hair back in her usual pigtails, drawing back into her shell.

"What a pity," Nakamura mused, looking at Hayami. "You really looked like Bitch-sensei just now."

"And acted like her too." Karma added. Maehara and Isogai stared at her. "What?" They asked curiously.

Karma smirked and showed them his phone, which had a photo of Hayami acting all "bitchy".

"Ooh!" Maehara wolf whistled loudly. Koro-sensei's eyes went "fwoop" and he stared at the photo intently while his tentacles jotted notes down at Mach speed.

"Hey, stop it!" Hayami muttered, angry and embarrassed and tried to grab Karma's phone. He easily put it out of her reach and she gave up, in fear of making another scene. "For some reason, even that sounds tsundere-ish." Karma commented lightly. Everyone grinned.

"By the way, sensei, why did you dress up like a magical girl earlier?" Nakamura asked, a small smirk on her face and she held up the picture of her teacher doing his "Love Bullet Shoot".

"Eh?!" Koro-sensei shrieked, shocked, then hid his face with his tentacles, squirming. "How embarrassing! How mortifying!" Meanwhile, the others took a really good look at the picture, ignoring Koro-sensei.

When Koro-sensei calmed down slightly, he answered, "I wanted to encourage Hayami-san to be more assertive, but not in this… what-do-you-call-it, yandere way. So Maehara-kun," Koro-sensei brandished a tentacle in said boy's direction. "I _did_ help to make them together!"

"So basically, you wanted her to dress in a magical girl outfit." Karma jumped to the conclusions quickly. "Hmm, nice. I think Chiba would like to see that." Hayami glared at him, but since everyone was so used to her cold eyes nobody gave much thought to it.

"Oooh." Maehara and Nakamura said unhelpfully. "Heh, maybe we should buy that next, shouldn't we…." Nakamura said to Karma, grinning evilly. The others felt a shiver of fear coursing through their body. Fear the class devils!

"Now this is taken care of, I have to go now for egg tarts in Hong Kong!" Koro-sensei said. "Good luck Hayami-san! Please go and confess to Chiba-kun ASAP. Goodbye, my lovely students!" Koro-sensei disappeared, leaving a gust of wind behind.

"Wait… what did he say about you confessing to Chiba?" Nakamura said to Hayami. Her eyes widened. "Ooh, you told Koro-sensei that you like him? Bad move!"

"I didn't tell him. He just assumed!" Hayami defended herself, cheeks red. "And besides, I don't-"

Karma yawned. "Stop being in denial. Everyone assumes you two are dating. And I mean _everyone._ "

Hayami couldn't argue with him. Because for some reason everyone thought they were a couple. Even random people on the streets would shoot them glances. Her mother, who wasn't the most attentive mom, asked if she had a boyfriend because she saw Hayami with Chiba for like one time.

There was a short silence. Then Maehara hissed, "Red alert! Red alert! Chiba is standing up!"

"He's going to the bathroom," Isogai observed. "Probably." He added after a second thought. And for the second time that day, Hayami found herself being shoved under the table by the oh-so-helpful class devils.

She hoped she won't go crazy again.

But still, nothing would stop her from being protective of Chiba.

* * *

Meanwhile, we go back to Chiba. Remember the rules on how to interact with Chiba, Mr. No-Eyes-But-Don't-Ask-About-Them?

One, don't ask him any questions. Broken.

Two, don't invade his private space. Broken again.

Three, don't ask about his eyes.

Now he and his date just ate in silence. Which was okay. But still Chiba felt awkward and out of place.

Things didn't go any better when he suddenly saw Koro-sensei zoom past him. Chiba groaned internally. Great. At least four people and one unidentified tentacle creature spying on him. Ohh, he was _so_ going to be bombed with questions when he got back to school.

"Umm… Chiba-kun…" Hiraoka began, somewhat timidly.

"Hm?" Chiba said, not really listening and instead focusing on the wooden structure of the café, which was quite interesting. No, he wasn't being sarcastic. He loved architecture.

"Actually, why do you hide your eyes?"

Bam. All three rules broken.

Chiba wasn't sure how to reply. Normally, he would ignore those questions. Or change the topic. Or move away slowly. But he was trapped this time.

"Umm, well, since I'm used to this hairstyle so I won't like to change it," Chiba said finally, which was half the truth.

"Okay." Hiraoka said, while thinking _Did I offend him? Did I cross a line_? She looked at the floor, suddenly feeling very shy.

Now Chiba thought about that, Hayami never asked about his eyes or his hairstyle. Actually they don't talk that much, their preferred way of spending time together was either shooting, studying or just sitting side by side. She respected his privacy and in return he respected hers too.

But the more he thought about Hayami, the more uneasy he became. Sure, they don't talk a lot, but they were more comfortable around each other than around anyone else. They were the closest to each other in the class, and therefore Chiba felt he had the responsibility to check on Hayami and make sure she was okay. Hayami could hide her emotions very well but when she talked she was blunt and honest (albit in a tsundere-ish way). Not many people could see beneath her cold facade and Chiba was one of the lucky few. But sometimes even Chiba couldn't pinpoint her feelings. It was at times like this he was most worried about her. It didn't help that _he_ had hurt her in some way without knowing it.

 _Hayami… what did I do?_

Something gnawed at his heart, and Chiba just wanted to ask Hayami what was wrong. He bit his lip and chewed at his food, but he couldn't taste anything at all.

Chiba decided it was rude to text someone, especially a girl, on a date with another girl, so he politely excused himself to the bathroom.

Hands in pockets, he made his way towards the bathroom. He sneaked a glance at the general direction of Karma and Co., and saw them pretending not to notice him. For a second, Chiba thought he saw a flash of orange hair like Hayami's. When he blinked again, it was gone.

Chiba sighed. _I'm hallucinating. Wait, when did I start to hallucinate about Hayami?_

Meanwhile, Nakamura looked at Chiba out of the corner of her eye. _He seems kinda down,_ she noted. _What if he's worried about Hayami?_ An evil grin appeared on her face. _Ahh, the ship sails._

After the boys determined it was safe, Hayami reappeared from under the table. She moodily traced the wooden lines on the table with her finger. The others chattered with each other but Hayami stayed quiet, like always.

She felt a sudden vibration in her bag. _It's a message._ Hayami reached in and pulled out her phone, checking her messages.

"Hey, you got a message!" Nakamura noted. Like in real life, the sniper duo didn't talk much in 3-E's chat group. They weren't even online most of the time. "Who is it from?" she asked eagerly.

Hayami didn't answer and looked at the message she got.

 **Chiba Ryuunosuke: Hayami, why are so mad at me?**

Hayami stared at her phone screen, pondering his question.

"So Chiba purposely went to the bathroom to text you?" Karma asked, peering over Hayami's shoulder. "Wow, he sure thinks a lot about you." Hayami gripped her phone tighter.

 **I'm not mad at you.** Hayami replied, typing while trying to hide her phone from both Karma and Nakamura's prying stares. She hit the "send" button.

Chiba managed a small grin, back where he locked himself in the bathroom. _Well she_ is _the Tsundere Sniper for a reason._

 **I know you know you're mad at me.**

When Hayami didn't reply, a new message from Chiba popped out seconds later.

 **Is it because of the date thing?**

The girl froze, fingers hovering above her keyboard. She totally forgot about Karma and Nakamura hovering in the background, noting down everything that passed between her and Chiba.

 **No, why do you ask?** Hayami managed to reply.

 **Because you started acting weird since Okajima yelled to the class that I had a date. Are you jealous or something?** Chiba didn't even know why he added the last question.

The reply came back almost immediately. **No. Don't think so highly of yourself.**

"Tsundere mode on!" Nakamura cackled somewhere behind Hayami. Hayami, face red, quickly tried to change the subject.

 **By the way aren't you supposed to be on a date? Why are texting me?**

And then Chiba stared at his screen motionlessly, wondering what to say. _Because I'm worried about you_ seemed too mushy, and _because your recent actions might affect your shooting skills_ seemed too cold. _You're more important than the date_ was a definite nope.

"He's taking a really long time to reply," Karma muttered.

 **Because I am your partner after all.** Chiba finally settled with that.

"Dammit, I was hoping for a mushier reply," Nakamura hissed.

Hayami was satisfied with his answer. Ignoring that sudden warm feeling in her heart, she wondered what to type when Chiba suddenly went offline. Well at least that solved her problem.

"Ooh, it seems like you text him pretty often…" Karma drawled mischievously. "Is there a reason? Perhaps a really _special_ reason?"

"That is _not_ any of your business, Karma," Hayami answered coldly although she was blushing slightly.

Meanwhile Chiba walked out of the bathroom, deep in thought. He stole a glance in the direction of his classmates and he saw his sniping partner Hayami Rinka among them for some reason. He certainly hadn't seen her earlier, but there she was, saying something to Karma. She was blushing and looked angry.

Chiba casually walked back to his seat, while keeping an eye on Ri-Hayami. He meant Hayami. _When did I start calling her by her first name?_ Chiba muttered to himself angrily. _It isn't right._

But seriously, why was that girl here, sitting with his classmates who were stalking him? It was no coincidence. Hayami was stalking him for whatever reason she had and she ganged up with his other stalkers to do their stalkerish stuff.

Then he thought, _Well, that_ is _Hayami. She won't do such a thing._

But evidence proved otherwise. Did that mean she didn't trust him? Maybe looking for stuff to blackmail him? Chiba's brows furrowed as he thought deeply.

Then he saw Hayami's red cheeks. Her hand grasping her phone tightly. Her immediate reply when Chiba asked if she was jealous. Karma and Nakamura teasing her with their sleazy grins. Hayami glaring at them. Her sudden change of behavior when she knew he had a date.

Chiba wasn't stupid. He started to piece the facts together to form one whole picture.

Hayami _was_ jealous. And why would she be jealous? Because she liked him.

 _Hayami Rinka liked him._

Chiba felt a small smile tug on his lips, but stopped. This would highly complicate things. It would probably take her a thousand years to admit it. And they were both awkward and shy so how would a relationship work out? Things were going to get even more awkward if she knew that he knew she fancied him. Besides they had to focus on killing Koro-sensei, not on dating!

 _Slow down,_ Chiba ordered himself. _She just has a crush on you, no need to move suddenly into a relationship._

And when Chiba finally sat down, Hiraoka got the distinct feeling that her date's thoughts were elsewhere.

* * *

The rest of Chiba's date passed uneventfully, as no one tried to stab someone else with a pair of scissors.

Karma, Nakamura, Maehara and even Isogai didn't give Hayami a break and bombed her with tons of questions concerning her relationship with Chiba. She refused to answer. In the end, they gave up, but Nakamura started offering Hayami love advice she got from Bitch-sensei.

"Look, they saw food is the way to a man's heart, why don't you-"

"Why don't you shut up." Hayami was too grouchy to be polite. That was the most emotionally draining day Hayami had ever experienced. And most people thought she had no emotions!

Nakamura pouted. "Y'know, I heard from Kurahashi who heard from Yada that Bitch-sensei says you should dress more boldly to be more attractive to boys."

No reply from Hayami.

"Look, this has been fun, but I think Hayami has enough," Isogai said, managing a grin. "We aren't going to get anything out of her."

"I can blackmail you with that photo with you flipping your hair." Nakamura pestered.

Still no reply. Hayami was mentally debating whether having an embarrassing photo of her out or having to admit her feelings was worse.

"Hayami, since I did you a favour by bounding you from killing someone, can you do me a favor too?" Karma asked suddenly, eyes too wide and innocent.

Hayami regarded with him with suspicion. "It's fine, so long it doesn't involve me dressing in a maid outfit or a magical girl outfit. Or any outfit actually."

Karma's grin grew wider. "How did you know what I want do?"

 _Oh, this is bad._ Hayami thought to herself, sighing. _This is very bad._

* * *

Next morning, Chiba and Hayami walked to the campus together as usual. Chiba noticed that Hayami seemed rather subdued.

"Chiba, I…" Hayami began, looking up at him. "I think I have been rather rude to you yesterday. I didn't mean some things I said… I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Chiba answered lightly.

"And… and I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself." Hayami confessed. "I was being stupid yesterday," she added quietly, more to herself than Chiba.

Chiba heard her. "What stupid thing did you do?" He asked curiously and leaned closer.

Hayami felt herself flaming up. "Nothing." She had spent the whole night analyzing her feelings for Chiba. After some careful consideration, she decided to hide her crush the best she could and hopefully forget about it.

"If you say so," Chiba said, looking at the girl carefully. Hayami looked away to prevent herself from blushing.

 _She's kinda cute when she's being a tsundere,_ Chiba smiled.

Hayami was yelling at herself. _Stop the blushing! We can just be friends, nothing more!_ She managed to arrange her face into her usual passive expression.

They passed by some students from the main campus. One pointed to them discreetly and whispered to his companion, "Whoa, two kids from Class E dating? Is that even possible?"

 _Here we go again,_ both Chiba and Hayami thought in unison. The daily assumptions and questions. It was even worse for Chiba because of his date yesterday.

"Ooh, it's _him_!" Came a very audible whisper. Chiba groaned internally and saw Hiraoka with her friends. Said girl was shying away from him while her friends jabbered non-stop. "Ask him out again!" one whispered. Hiraoka shook her head frantically. The girl sighed dramatically. "Well, I'll ask him for you." "No!" Hiraoka squeaked, shaking her head.

Hayami frowned. It seemed like history was repeating itself. And she wouldn't let it happen again. Nor would she let her yandere side out again.

"Hey, Chiba, are you free this afternoon?" Hayami asked while walking closer to Chiba (they usually walked with a sizable distance between them). "Same time, same place?"

"Oh, sure." Chiba answered, knowing she wanted to go to the shooting arcade. He was also mildly surprised by her boldness. Chiba was reminded of Hayami stalking him yesterday but he didn't mention it. But he still couldn't figure out who shot that paintball and why.

Hiraoka's friend walked up to them confidently. "Is she your girlfriend?" She asked bluntly to Chiba, gesturing at Hayami.

"No." Chiba said, while his mind screamed _please go away I don't like talking to strangers._ "We're just friends." He added, saying the same words he had said to a lot of people before.

"Oh. I see." She bounded back to Hiraoka. "Too bad, he's busy." She muttered to Hiraoka.

Chiba watched suspiciously as Hayami drifted closer to him, eyes straight forward. He noted a tiny smirk on her face. Her eyes had a resemblance to her bloodlust-filled eyes back in training yesterday.

Chiba suddenly wondered if she had shot the paintball.

The sniper duo walked forward, approaching the stairs they had to walk every day to school. The other students made their way to the main campus.

Just before they stepped on the stairs, Hayami turned and glared at Hiraoka and her friends, eyes shimmering with bloodlust. The other girls turned pale and instantly got her meaning.

 _Don't get close to him._

Hayami whipped her head back and continued up the stairs as if nothing had happened. Chiba didn't question her.

They were almost at the top of the stairs when Hayami spoke. "Can you promise me a thing?"

"Sure." Chiba answered.

"Promise me that I'll always be your sniping partner no matter what. I mean," Hayami continued. "You can pair up with other people but I'll always be your real partner."

Chiba thought it was a strange thing to ask, but didn't object. "Okay, I promise."

Hayami's lip curled up.

"Good."

* * *

Somewhere behind, Maehara, Isogai, Kataoka and Okano walked up the stairs, Nakamura, Karma and Nagisa behind them.

"Maehara, you wanna practice handling knives after school today?" Isogai asked. "Karasuma-sensei said he might teach us to throw knives."

"Sorry," Maehara said cheekily. "I have a date today." Isogai sighed, his friend could never change.

"Really?" Okano asked, ice cold. "Didn't you have a date like the day before yesterday?" Her voice was sharp and biting.

"Well babe," Maehara grinned. "A lot of girls crave after me. It can't be helped when I'm so attractive." He winked flirtatiously at Okano. Isogai and Kataoka simultaneously facepalmed.

"Oh, I see." Fire slowly burnt inside Okano, eyes going dark. She stopped walking and her hands clenched into a fist.

"Hinata-chan? Are you okay?" Kataoka asked, concerned for her friend.

"I'm fine all right." Okano smiled, but it was the same chilling smile Hayami had yesterday.

Nakamura gulped. "Here we go again," she said softly to Karma.

Nagisa cocked his head, confused. "Umm, what?"

He never got an answer. Karma's golden eyes traced Okano's form, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. He and Nakamura were thinking the same thing.

 _Another yandere._

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for the reviews, follows and favs! They mean a lot to me! :) And although this short story "Yandere Sniper" is finished, by no means am I finished with writing ChibaHaya stuff! This will expand to a oneshot/drabble series about ChibaHaya, because this fandom needs more of it.**

 **And as always, please read and review! Thanks!**


	4. Partners

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Certain dialogue is from a translation on Tumblr (from blazardragon, to be specific)**

* * *

Partners

"Okay class, let's get into groups for the project!" the teacher said cheerfully.

The classmates started to form groups and tagging people. Chattering and occasional yelling filled the classroom. Everyone seemed to be excited for the group project.

Except two.

Chiba Ryuunosuke didn't like group projects, because it meant he'll have to communicate with people. They were scared at him because of his eyes, but now they teased him because of his hairstyle covering his eyes. So no matter what he did his classmates would think he was weird anyway. Besides, he was an outcast, he was always left out and isolated.

Hayami Rinka was confused. She was okay with group projects, but the way everyone interacted with each other scared her. They had just started first year of middle school, it was just a week, but everyone seemed to know each other. She had talked to some people, but as she spun around to look for them, they were lost in the sea of people. Suddenly, she felt invisible among the chattering, laughing students.

Chiba looked at the kids from behind his bangs which concealed his eyes. He started to panic slightly. If he didn't have a group, the teacher surely would pick up and ask if a group would like to have him, which would be embarrassing. He started walking around, but everyone seemed to have formed groups.

In the midst of people, a sudden flash of colour caught his eye. Chiba followed it to see a orange-brownish haired girl standing in the corner, sharp green eyes wide as she looked around, confused and scared. Chiba's heart skipped a beat; finally, he found someone like him, lost and alone. He watched as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt nervously.

Hayami was wondering what to do when she saw a tall boy who appeared to be staring at her, even though his bangs were covering his eyes. She tried to catch a better look at him, but some classmates walked in front of him, blocking her sight.

Somehow she felt intrigued by this boy. He was certainly mysterious, with his hair covering his eyes. She saw him in class, seated at the very back, never making a sound. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was a ghost or something.

When the classmates had walked away, she discovered he was already being pulled away by a couple of boys. Hayami felt a tiny twinge of disappointment. She thought maybe she would pair up with him first and wait for people to "adopt" them. At least she wouldn't look too weird if there were two people left.

"Hi!" a girl waved at Hayami. "Wanna be in same group as us?" She gestured at the girls standing behind her, giggling.

Hayami smiled. "Sure."

* * *

"So class, pair up!" The PE teacher instructed after he told them how to do warm-up exercises. It was Class 1-B's first PE lesson, so the teacher just wanted them to do some exercises and run some laps.

Hayami bit her lip. _Here we go again,_ she thought bitterly. Pairing up. Such nonsense. But she decided to take the initiative this time. She was thankful someone wanted her in their group before or else she would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

She approached some girls, but before she could even open her mouth to ask, they paired up with each other happily, completely ignoring her. Hayami looked around her, and the same feeling of being lost hit her again. She scanned the area desperately, a sinking feeling in her heart.

Chiba looked at everyone pairing up. It was the same as last time's situation. He sighed deeply and shuffled around in look for a partner. He was resigned to his isolated fate. It had always been like ever since he was born.

It happened so fast. Everyone was chatting in pairs and in her panic Hayami couldn't remember whether the class had an odd number of students or an even number… maybe she was going to be alone again-

"Looks like we're partners."

Hayami nearly jumped out of her skin, but she turned around and saw the mysterious boy with long bangs standing right behind her.

"H-huh?" She asked, slightly shocked at the boy suddenly appearing. Maybe he was a ghost after all.

Chiba looked down at the girl who was looking up at him. "Everyone paired up already, so we're left." He explained simply.

"Oh. Right." Hayami could think of nothing else to say as the two stood there uncomfortably, a sizable distance between them.

"Hayami-san, is it?" Chiba asked politely.

The girl shrugged. "You can call me Hayami if you want."

"Then you have to call me Chiba." he replied.

That's when they both realized the number of boys and girls in the class were odd numbers. Which meant there would be a boy-girl pair everytime the class had to pair up.

 _Shoot._

Twenty-something pairs of eyes turned to them, gleaming like the eyes of hungry wolves.

And from that moment onwards, they were shipped by everyone because they always paired up together.

* * *

Chiba walked to the library quickly, carrying textbooks in his hands. He'd agreed to help a student study for Maths, but to be honest he wasn't quite familiar with the formulas himself. Another wanted him to do some research for the group project, and that was why he was going to the library.

When he reached the large, spacious library, he was dismayed to find the seats seemed to be filled. In this cram school, there were a lot of students who loved the library and went there every break. All Chiba could see were frantic students studying for tests, studiously taking notes or reading.

Chiba hurried past them, searching for a vacant seat. He could always ask someone if they would mind sharing a table with them, but he wouldn't do it because he was socially awkward and didn't like talking.

"Here, Chiba!"

The boy saw Hayami waving at him, seated at a table with open books and scattered notes in front of her. She gestured to a chair beside her.

"Thanks." He said as he slid into the chair, putting his books on the table. "You're welcome." Hayami replied.

There was a short pause as Hayami jotted down some notes and Chiba flipped his book open.

"So you're studying too?" Chiba asked as Hayami highlighted a sentence on her notes.

"Kinda." Hayami picked up another pen, brow furrowed in thought. "I'm making study notes for a classmate. She asked me to help her."

"What a coincidence," Chiba said. "I'm helping someone else to study too."

Later, they agreed that whoever came first should get the same table for both of them to study. Even though they technically weren't studying for themselves, Chiba and Hayami became (kind of) study partners. They sat next to each other, rarely talking.

They both liked this relationship. As they were both more quiet, reserved people, this study arrangement was good for them.

Until Hayami failed a math test.

Chiba watched as Hayami poured over her notes at their usual table, looking grimmer than usual. She sighed and rested her head in the center of her palm. Seconds later, she brushed her hair back almost angrily.

"You're not really studying." Chiba observed. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"I just can't focus," Hayami mumbled, irritated at herself.

"You want me to help you study?" Chiba asked.

The girl looked up, remembering Chiba got one of the highest marks in the test. He had a gentle smile on his face.

"Okay, thanks." Hayami agreed, feeling there was hope. In this school, if you weren't careful, you would end up in 3-E, the class of misfits.

Then, they became true study partners.

* * *

 _Class 3-E_

Hayami gulped at the rundown school building in front of her, if it could be called a building. She silently entered the classroom. Heads spun to look at her. Hayami felt self conscious, but then realized they all had the same depressed, half-scared expression.

 _In this class, we're all the same. Everyone would look down on us._

She took her seat, which was in front of a bespectacled girl who was nervously chewing her lip. Hayami thought about her future, which was as dark as the clouds outside the window.

Chiba tugged his bangs down. His mood was grim as he approached the Class E campus. He could still hear echoes of his teacher's comments. _I thought you were smart! And now, you totally disappointed me!_

His heart clenched as he walked towards his seat. He walked past Hayami's seat, which was the front-left seat from his seat. He studied her eyebrows which were pinched together in worry.

Chiba was glad no one could see his eyes. People often said eyes were the window to the soul, and they were probably right. Chiba didn't let any emotions show. He didn't want anyone to know how he felt. It was too private.

He sat down, arms and legs too stiff. Then Chiba saw the familiar orange-haired girl in the dark classroom.

Just like how he spotted her way back when they were left alone in forming groups for projects.

 _Partners._

They were in Class E. They had lost their parents' and teachers' respect, acceptance from classmates, and friends who refused to be seen with them because of their status.

But they still had each other.

They still had their partner.

* * *

Chiba was surprisingly good at shooting.

Ever since the moon exploded, Class E's lives had changed drastically. They were assigned to kill their teacher, a supernatural octopus-like creature. Their classroom became the one and only "Assassination Classroom". They learnt assassination skills from Karasuma, a soldier from the military.

"That was some good shooting, especially for an amateur." Karasuma approved his newly-found talent. "You should polish your sniping skills."

Sniping, huh?

The rest of the boys looked at him in awe as he shot a bullseye. He pretended not to notice them and focused on shooting.

Meanwhile Karasuma went over to the girls, who were practicing shooting floating balloons instead of the targets the boys were practicing with.

Hayami gripped the pistol, and pulled the trigger. The sound of popping balloons quickly followed and their remains laid limply on the ground.

"Whoa, you're fast!" A girl gasped. Hayami didn't reply, but sat down and tried to shoot, remembering Karasuma taught them to find a firing position which is the most comfortable. Karasuma noted her shooting skills. He observed both the boys and the girls for a while, and then concluded Chiba was the best on the boys' side and Hayami on the girls'. When the lesson ended, Karasuma called for Chiba and Hayami. They two looked at each other with quizzical glances and then approached Karasuma together.

"Chiba-kun, Hayami-san," Karasuma began. "You two have a talent for sniping. I suggest you to properly develop your skills."

"Does this mean we'll have to take extra lessons?" Hayami asked seriously.

Inside, Karasuma admired their keen learning attitude. "Not now," Karasuma replied. "You still have to grasp the basics for extra training. But there is another reason why I called you here."

Chiba and Hayami stood, listening intently.

"Chiba-kun is better at marksmanship when shooting from a stable position. However, Hayami-san is able to shoot down moving targets from various positions. You two both have your different strengths." Karasuma paused. "If you would pair up, train and learn together it would be a great asset to our assassination mission."

Chiba and Hayami looked at each other wordlessly.

"Of course, that is just a suggestion." Karasuma added, wondering if there had been some unknown rivalry between the two before.

"I think we'll be fine." Chiba said. Hayami also nodded.

"Good." Karasuma said. "You may leave now."

The duo walked back to the campus. "So...we're partners again." Hayami said awkwardly.

"I do hope we get along." Chiba said, stretching out his arm.

"Same," Hayami shook Chiba's hand.

* * *

It wasn't long before the class started to refer them as the "sniper duo" or "sniper combo" or in some cases the "sniper ship".

Despite not having received extra training the sniper duo were determined to do their best, so they went to a local shooting arcade to practice.

"I think your accuracy improved." Chiba said after one of those practices. Hayami hummed in agreement as she drunk from her water bottle. "Practice makes perfect."

Despite to the long times they spent together, and due to their quiet nature, things used to be kind of awkward. Nobody knew what to say but yet the silence was awkward. They didn't really interact outside class and assassination despite Koro-sensei's numerous attempts.

One day, a sniping challenge was held in the hill. Targets with Koro-sensei's face were hung all over the mountain, some obvious, some hidden. Chiba and Hayami worked together as usual. They trekked through the forest, searching for targets.

"I think I saw one." Hayami said, pointing towards a tall branch nearly at the top of a tree, half-concealed by some leaves.

"Yeah, that's a target." Chiba squinted at the branch. "But it's too tall, and there are no nearby trees."

"We can shoot it from the highest branch we can climb to, but the angle would be tricky for us to hit the target." Hayami noted. "Besides, the leaves and the target move in the wind."

The two stared at the target, thinking hard. They never backed down from a challenge.

"I think I will climb the tree's highest branch," Hayami said, "and shoot the ropes holding the target in place. Karasuma-sensei said we can remove the ropes only if we do so by shooting."

"I'll shoot the target when the ropes are shot." Chiba said, peering at the target, mentally calculating where it would most likely fall down. "It's going to be difficult though."

"That's okay," Hayami replied, swiftly climbing the tree. "You're great at marksmanship."

"You're not bad yourself at shooting from tough spots," Chiba replied loyally. He got into position and peered through his scope. Hayami swung herself up the highest branch and found a spot where she could shoot. She aimed her pistol and with two swift gunshots the ropes were cut. The target dropped and Chiba shot two successive times. The first time he missed the bullseye but the second time he hit it.

"Did you hit the bullseye?" Hayami called from the branch.

"Yes." Chiba replied, picking up the target and peered at the holes he made.

In a few seconds Hayami slid down the tree like she was liquid. They both looked at the target.

"That was kind of awesome." Chiba said. "You're better at shooting moving targets, but I hit it too."

What he really meant was: working together had really paid off. We're both helping the other to improve.

"I like us being partners." Hayami said.

What she really meant: we know each other's movement patterns and shooting style well enough, we can easily work together.

They could both understand the other like no one else could.

"You know, in the movies, the partners usually share a fist bump when they accomplish something?" Chiba asked, smiling slightly.

"That would be a good idea," Hayami admitted. "But we can't fist bump when we're holding our guns." She thought for a second, still holding her pistol. Then she raised her arm, elbow out. "How about we bump our arms together?"

Chiba held his arm out in the same fashion as Hayami's and they bumped their lower arms experimentally. It felt natural enough.

"So this is our version of the fist bump." Hayami said.

"Yeah." Chiba replied, fighting back a grin.

* * *

The Okinawa assassination attempt would be the biggest one ever.

It was carefully planned by the class, mainly by Nagisa, Isogai and Kataoka with help from Ritsu. Of course, everyone contributed a little.

Chiba and Hayami, as the top snipers, would deal the final killing blow. They both felt great responsibility because the fate of not only the assassination attempt, but the whole class were in their hands. So naturally, they practiced and practiced. They practiced different shooting styles during summer.

"Bullseye." Kataoka said, swinging her legs on the ledge of the swimming pool Koro-sensei made in the mountain. Chiba and Hayami were half submerged in the pool but their shooting ability was as high as ever. The two stared silently at the target, water dripping from them.

"That was great." Nagisa said, walking over.

"No, it wasn't." Chiba said silently. "The water made me a bit dizzy. The shot was lucky."

"Mm." Hayami agreed, brushing her wet hair from her face.

Nagisa and Kataoka shared a glance. They were not only professionals, but also perfectionists. They knew they played the most important part in their biggest assassination.

So basically, Chiba and Hayami spent about the whole summer shooting. And even if they weren't practicing, they would think about shooting.

Sometimes, while doing homework, Hayami would make a gun shape with her fingers and pretend to fire at something.

Sometimes, while eating, Chiba would calculate the shooting distance of a random object, like his mother's cup. Then his parents would ask what was he doing, staring at something intently, he would reply he was just thinking.

When they were awake, they thought about nothing but shooting. When they were sleeping, they would dream about nothing but shooting. They practiced and practiced and practiced until everyone thought they were overworking themselves.

"Take a break." Isogai said, concerned. "We can't have you sick at the trip."

"Sit down and rest." Kataoka said.

Even Terasaka had enough. "Won't your eyes hurt after shooting for so long?" he hollered, which was his way of concerning about others.

The class noticed even Karma, who didn't show his care for anyone openly, were shooting the sniper duo glances.

Lovro and Karasuma just frowned at them. "Those youngsters are determined." Lovro remarked. "But maybe a bit too much."

"They're very professional." Karasuma replied. "They won't let themselves make a single mistake."

After a long summer of non-stop shooting and practicing, Chiba and Hayami finally convinced themselves they could shoot Koro-sensei and started to be more confident.

"They won't let themselves make a single mistake," Karasuma said. "They can do it," Isogai said. "This plan would be perfect," Nagisa said. "We can do it," Chiba and Hayami said.

And then what?

They missed.

They both missed.

When they climbed out of the water dejectedly, their moods had sunk to an all time low. They had failed. They had ruined the whole attempt. It was going brilliantly until they shot. The pressure and expectations everyone and themselves gave had crushed them, their fingers stiffened and their sight narrowed.

When they reached the hotel, they couldn't even face each other. Ritsu's data didn't make them feel better either. Knowing if they shot better the chances of hitting Koro-sensei would be up to 50% made them feel worse.

Everyone depended on them. And they failed. And it was the reason they got into 3-E in the first place. Because they were never good enough.

But then, things escalated quickly. The sudden panic of half the class being sick overcame their worry and self blame. They quickly made preparations to sneak in the hotel. Everything was in a flurry and they only focused on one thing: _save the class._

Everything was going okay, until they were both given real guns. Both were shocked, because they just had their biggest failure ever and yet they were trusted with more guns.

But there was no time to mope and everyone quickly sneaked inside the theater.

Hayami was beginning to feel like she was a terrible sniper when she missed-again. And for that Koro-sensei had to shuffle the students to confuse the enemy.

Hayami felt like it was all her fault.

Crouching behind a seat, Chiba thought it was his fault too. He wasn't so sure about his shooting skills anymore.

Koro-sensei, even in his absolute defence form, could sense his two students' worry. So being their teacher, Koro-sensei give the sniper duo some advice right before the shootout, which boosted their confidence and allowed the shootout to be a success.

Both felt accomplished and satisfied. Their classmates immediately crowded around them, praising them with huge grins on their faces.

Chiba turned around at the same time Hayami did, and they caught each other's eye.

When they did their arm bump, all was right again.

* * *

The students of Class E watched helplessly as the glowing remains of their beloved teacher slid through their fingers. It was inevitable, but still that didn't make them feel any better.

Neither Chiba or Hayami liked crying. They thought it was a sign of weakness. And Hayami _hated_ crybabies (mainly because she used to be one). Their eyes were surprisingly dry during Koro-sensei's final roll call, but there was a dull pressure in their chests, squeezing all of their positive emotions out.

 _We've always wanted to kill him._ Chiba thought. _Now we can finally kill him, but somehow… I don't want it to end like this._

 _Koro-sensei's going to die. We'll finally kill him._ Hayami told herself repeatedly. She fought back the lump in her throat. Even as she said it, she didn't want to believe it.

They watched as Nagisa delivered the knife into their sensei's heart. Koro-sensei's body glowed bright, blinding them, as he gave them one last smile.

 _This is it… the end of our assassination mission… the end of our assassination classroom…_

Everyone looked emotional as the glowing dots fluttered up like fireflies, lighting up the dark sky. It was beautifully tragic. Hayami blinked, and the lights seemed to be multiplied by the tears in her eyes.

The class stared sadly at the glowing lights floating further, further away… until they faded into the inky darkness, seen no more. They settled back into the dark again, each feeling a terrible emptiness in their heart.

Then the reality of it sunk in. Koro-sensei was dead.

 _Koro-sensei was dead._

In the clear night, Nagisa sobbed into Koro-sensei's tie, its owner gone. Nobody made any move to comfort him, because their own tears were threatening to overflow.

A tear slipped down Chiba's cheek. He wiped it away with his finger; he wasn't even aware he was crying.

The dam broke, and everyone started crying hysterically. At first it was only sniffles, but they become cries, and later desperate wails.

Karasuma and Bitch-sensei stood silently in the distance. As adults, they didn't lose their composure easily, especially Karasuma, but even they were moved. Bitch-sensei tried to steadfastly ignore the tears rapidly falling from her eyes. Karasuma nearly cried, _he never cried_ , so he took a gulp to conceal the lump in his throat.

Nobody could see anything, their eyes were too blurred by tears. And suddenly, suddenly, although their classmates and friends were present, each and every student felt so, so alone.

Hayami couldn't do anything to stop the tears. She tried to wipe them away, but more just came. In the end, she gave up at let herself sob desperately. She wanted to move, to do something, but her legs felt stiff and foreign to her own body. Hayami forced herself to move anyway, sniffling.

She vaguely remembered hitting someone. She opened her mouth to apologize, but her throat felt dry.

Chiba was wiping the moisture from his eyes when he felt someone hit his chest. He looked down and through his tears, he saw Hayami, also crying. He reached out his arms instinctively and hugged her.

" _It's okay,_ " he whispered to her in a ragged and uneven voice. He wasn't sure if he was comforting himself or Hayami. " _It's okay, it's okay._ "

In response, Hayami sobbed into his shirt, reaching out tentative arms and wrapped them around his torso. Chiba hugged Hayami tighter and whispered things to comfort her, but when he couldn't speak anymore, Hayami let him cry into her shoulder.

The position was a bit awkward, with Chiba being taller than Hayami, but neither of them cared.

When they first arrived in Class E, they were in very low spirits. They both had been taken advantage of their generosity and kindness, leading to their downfall. As a result, they had been bitter and refused to talk to anyone. Their parents and friends couldn't understand because they didn't let their emotions show.

Then Koro-sensei came. He didn't look down them like everyone else did, and he encouraged them to come out of their shells, and so they did, bit by bit. He sincerely cared about every student because well, _they were his students_ and he was the closest thing to a perfect teacher anyone would ever have. Just thinking about their teacher made a fresh round of tears flow.

A year ago, if somebody told Chiba or Hayami that they would find someone that would understand them, they would have laughed. They would have never guessed how assassination bonded them. How much time they spent together. How they just stood there side by side, hands lightly brushing, enjoying the silence.

The year had been an incredible one, with assassination, studying, and growing together as a class in the mix. It was weird, hilarious; sometimes serious, sometimes fun, but they loved it all the same.

 _But all fun times come to an end._

Just for a few minutes, Hayami willed herself to forget about the harsh reality, and in a blurry daze, she wished how it was all only a bad dream. She hugged Chiba tighter, hoping to give him the same sense of comfort and safety as he gave to her.

Feeling her smaller body pressed against his, Chiba suddenly felt another lump in his throat. His heart felt warm and fuzzy, and tears gathered at his eyes. He let them fall, unable to control them anymore.

That night, even the coldest and sternest people let their emotions flow out. Even Karasuma.

Bitch-sensei was the only one who saw him silently wiping the corners of his eyes when he thought no one was looking.

* * *

"Just get married!"

Chiba and Hayami ignored Nakamura's cries and walked together in silence. They had all entered high school, and even though Chiba and Hayami went to different schools, they continued to walk to school together.

"It still surprises me that you two aren't dating," Yada yawned, covering her mouth.

"Don't rush them, they're just taking it at their own pace," Kurahashi said cheerfully, forever energetic.

"Do you want to go to the shooting arcade after school?" Chiba asked after a pause.

"Sure." Hayami replied easily. She thought for a second. "There's a new film showing at the cinema, we can watch it after shooting practice."

"That's fine for me." Chiba said and the duo sank back into their usual silence.

Meanwhile, Nakamura, Yada and Kurahashi gaped at them.

"Is that a D-A-T-E?" Nakamura drawled, stressing the spelling of the word "date". She leaned closer to the sniper duo, eyes glittering with mischief. Yada and Kurahashi followed her.

"No." Chiba and Hayami replied in unison.

"Then… what's that?" Nakamura pestered.

"It's an _appointment_." Chiba said very carefully. Hayami nodded.

"An appointment. Riiight." Nakamura raised her eyebrow. "That's just a fancy name for 'date'."

She couldn't get anything else out of the sniper combo so she just left them alone. After school Chiba and Hayami met up and walked to the shooting arcade.

"It's good to see you didn't lose your skills," Hayami commented after they shot some targets, Chiba hitting the bullseye every time.

"I have a feeling that our skills would get rusty without constant training," Chiba said, yet again hitting the bullseye. "So even if Karasuma-sensei doesn't train us anymore, I still like to train."

With a few flicks of her fingers, Hayami shot rapidly. Her aim wasn't as accurate as Chiba's but it was still good.

For the next hour Chiba and Hayami practiced non-stop. Ever since Koro-sensei's death and their graduation, their teachers became the plain normal kind and their PE lessons didn't involve any sort of training. Because they used to shoot everyday this sudden change didn't go well with them. Now they have to cram their precious shooting time in an hour.

The noise of gunfire and bullets hitting their targets filled the room. As they shot, they both had small smiles on their faces, because they were finally back to where they belong. Training was one of their ways of communication. They could just stand there for hours, shooting, needing no one's company except for the other. It brought back the fond memories of 3-E and Koro-sensei, and all the time the two spent together.

Almost at the same time, Chiba and Hayami lowered their guns for a short break. Surprised by their similar actions, they turned to look at each other, and smiled.

"Most bullseyes out of ten tries?" Hayami offered. There was no real rivalry between them, just the desire to improve.

"Roger." Chiba replied, a crooked grin on his face, and he started shooting.

* * *

Chiba was at a lost.

He had consulted Koro-sensei's advice book again and again, but even it didn't help him.

"Guessing by your posture, you still haven't found a job." A familiar voice said behind Chiba. He turned around and saw who it was. "Hayami."

Hayami sat down. While everyone had changed after all those years, Hayami's appearance had changed noticeably. Her hair was longer and she didn't wear it in pigtails anymore, choosing to keep it loose. Because she took lessons from Bitch-sensei her social skills had improved greatly. She was no longer as cold as she used to be, and even had a part-time job as a waitress.

"I failed all of my interviews…" Chiba said, depressed. "I want to die…"

In the assassination classroom, the words "kill" and "die" have a much stronger meaning for them, so Hayami knew when Chiba said he wanted to die it meant something was affecting him seriously.

"Should we change your hairstyle?" Hayami suggested, half talking to Chiba and half talking to herself.

Hayami had seen Chiba's eyes before, and while his stare _was_ piercing it wasn't really scary to her. Besides, the only people who had ever seen his eyes were his family, so Hayami took it as Chiba having deep trust in her. Although she would admit it would be a bit unnerving to see his eyes all the time.

Hayami pictured Chiba in multiple hairstyles. She thought of him in Yoshida's dreadlocks and Maehara's floppy hairstyle. Nothing seemed to work. Hairstyles flew through her mind and she discarded them one by one.

Chiba, seeing Hayami's judging stare, said, "It seems that not being able to get a proper look at my eyes gives them a bad impression of me after all." He sighed and patted his fringe. "But it's calming for me though."

 _I know,_ Hayami silently agreed with him. She thought of Chiba's eyes being visible all the time. It would be weird.

"Hide your eyes then. Your eyes are too sharp. You're even more likely to fail with flashy hair." Hayami sighed and stood up, thinking.

"Chiba…" she said after a pause. "I don't think you're suited for finding employment." It was harsh for her to say that, but actually Hayami had a better idea. A _way_ better idea.

Chiba's mood sank even further but made no comment, as he knew Hayami was right.

"If you changed your hair, you wouldn't really be yourself anymore." Hayami muttered. In all those years she had known Chiba, his hairstyle never changed so she grew accustomed to it.

"I'm starting my part-time work now, so I'll show you the things you cannot do." Hayami told Chiba. "I'm working as a waitress, and I learnt business reception skills from Bitch-sensei."

"As Koro-sensei would say, polish your first blade." Hayami knew about Chiba's dream to become an architect, and she knew he was good at designing buildings. "That would be your skills for designing buildings. Unfortunately, you can only do so when you're shielded by your hair and in your profoundly quiet world."

Ahhh Hayami. Always so straightforward.

"But then, everyone needs a second blade." Hayami continued. She paused for dramatic effect. "That would be me."

Chiba perked up at stared at Hayami. She smiled at him gently.

"I'll do the things you cannot do. You can be the boss of your company, and I'll be your secretary. You'll create your designs, and I'll present them to people. We'll still be a team."

Chiba was speechless. He couldn't imagine why would she do so much for him. His heart was overflowing with gratitude as he stared at Hayami.

"But you can't," he found himself saying. "Don't you have your dreams too?"

"Unlike you, I don't really have a special talent to do some good to the society. So I'll help you. I know you can do it." Hayami replied.

It was at times like this Chiba felt ashamed of himself. His old partner had moved forward from being cold and quiet, while he was still socially awkward and weird.

What did he even do to deserve her, so understanding and compassionate? Why was she so willing to help him?

She seemed to sense his questions. "Chiba, I've known you for a long time. I know who you are. Besides, Koro-sensei would have wanted you to become successful for doing what you're best at."

Chiba allowed himself to smile when he thought of his former teacher. "When you put it like that, I just can't refuse."

Later at a class reunion, everyone congratulated Chiba and Hayami on forming their company.

"It's nice to see you two still working so hard," Nagisa said, genuinely happy for them. He more or less knew about Chiba's talent for designing, and now he can finally use it.

"Once partners, forever partners, isn't it?" Nakamura said, winking at them.

Chiba and Hayami thought about their assassination days when they often teamed up. As the best snipers in the class, they always sought to improve their weaknesses by learning from the other. Everyone else admired their coordinated shooting skills, even Koro-sensei. They were partners, an unstoppable duo.

They looked at each other and grinned.

"Yup."

* * *

The word "partner" meant a lot to both Chiba and Hayami. So, after many years, when Chiba finally, _finally,_ proposed to Hayami, he didn't say the usual "will you marry me".

He asked, "Will you be my partner for life?"

Hayami was shocked for a second, but quickly covered it up by smiling. "Did you even have to ask?" she replied, a faint glimmer in her emerald eyes.

He laughed and his bangs fluttered, so she could see a glimpse of his rarely shown eyes. "Just to be sure," he joked lightly. He already knew the answer before he asked.

She also started laughing, a bit teary-eyed because of her joy. "Yes Ryuunosuke, I will be your partner for life."

* * *

They had expected a bigger reaction when they walked into the room, a ring gleaming on Rinka's finger.

Instead, they heard their former classmates cooing over Karma and Manami's newborn. "Geez, she's so _kawaii_!" Rio gushed, pulling Megu with her. Megu looked amused at her friend's antics, her arm looped with Yuuma's.

(They had started to call each other by front names when some classmates began to get married)

"Oh hello!" Rinka and Ryuunosuke turned to see a certain black haired girl.

"Kaede," Rinka acknowledged. "Or should it be Akari?"

"Well, I guess you can call me Akari, since I've left Kayano Kaede behind."

Megu and Yuuma approached the former sniper duo. "Hello," Yuuma said. Then he looked down and saw the ring. His eyes widened. "Congratulations! You two are _finally_ getting married!"

There was a dead silence in the room as everyone stared at the engaged couple.

Ryuunosuke half-expected Yuzuki to jump into a victory dance, exclaiming about "OTP" or something.

Rinka thought Rio might scream so loudly the ceiling would collapse.

Instead, Rio exclaimed, "Dammit! You should have waited just an another month to tell us!"

Yet another dead silence.

"Rio, I win the bet!" Karma smirked smugly. He laid his palm out, waiting for money.

Manami frowned. "Karma, I thought I told you not to bet." She shuffled the baby in her arms.

"Rio and I actually made the bet back in middle school," Karma informed her. "That was before you told me not to bet."

Manami smiled. "I guess I'll let it slide for once." She turned to Ryuunosuke and Rinka. "Congratulations! I hope you have a happy wedding!"

The congratulations started to flow in as Rio whined loudly about the bet. Despite that, everyone could see she was delighted about the wedding.

"Rio will never grow up, will she?" Ryuunosuke muttered to Megu.

Megu laughed awkwardly. "That's probably why she's still single. I think she wants to be the crazy single aunt of all of our kids."

They saw Manami carefully walking away from Rio, holding her baby tightly.

"I feel bad for her," Rinka said.

"Well if she can marry Karma, she must have a high tolerance." Ryuunosuke noted.

They looked at their surroundings calmly and intertwined their fingers together, both feeling deep happiness and serenity in their hearts.

"Partners?"

"Partners."

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! Thank you SO MUCH for the favourites and follows. That part about Chiba and Hayami forming their company is canon, according to the Graduation Album. So ChibaHaya is very much likely to be canon too.**

 **By the way, there's a ChibaHaya fanfic here called** _ **Longer Than A Year**_ **by TheRoseShadow21 and it is absolutely fantastic. There are many feels throughout the chapters and I nearly cried when I read it. It's M rated because of a chapter but you can skip it (and anyways the content isn't too explicit). Please go and check it out as I think the story is underrated!**

 **And please read and review! :)**

 **Edit: THIS IS NOW A ONESHOT SERIES! Connected oneshots will be named like "Part 1" and so on (like the three parts of Yandere Sniper are connected). Plain oneshots will not be named with parts (like this one) and I will definitely write more oneshots. So please continue to follow this fic!**


	5. Ultimate Couple

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: This is based off** _ **Koro-Sensei Quest!**_ **, a spin-off of the original** _ **Assassination Classroom**_ **anime. This story is basically a continuation of Episode 8.**

* * *

Ultimate Couple

A blinding light filled the room, and everyone shielded their eyes with their hands (or their tentacles). When the light faded, they opened their eyes.

… _I feel a bit strange…_ Chiba thought. He felt lighter, and his features more delicate. Then he came to a realisation. His bangs were not covering his eyes! Which meant they were visible! Chiba cringed, before he discovered something weirder.

Slowly, he discreetly looked down at his chest, where he saw two very… _noticeable_ bumps. Chiba blinked.

There was no mistake. Did they switch their genders? Became the opposite sex? Or…

Chiba felt two pistols hidden under his cloak. He knew the only person who was able to dual wield guns was his sniping partner Hayami. He quickly realized what happened to him, and probably to the rest of the party.

 _So that's how it's going to be…_

* * *

Hayami figured it out faster than Chiba did, mainly because the first thing she noticed was _those bangs blocking her sight._

And there was only one person who could have those bangs.

She shifted her body (or was it Chiba's body?) a little and she saw the bangs sway a bit.

Maybe Chiba was right. His bangs did act like a shield which could help him focus on the target.

Then she turned to look at her partner, who was in her body and very confused. Their eyes met for a second, before they both quickly looked away, blushing slightly. The situation was too awkward for them to handle.

"What happened?!" they heard Okajima- or whoever that was in Okajima's body scream, as he felt his bald head is desperation.

Chiba and Hayami watched without expression as a wailing Okajima- in Kataoka's body was tied up by Kataoka who was in Okajima's body.

Hayami silently praised the gods for not letting her switch with Okajima or else someone might just die today. She guessed she was lucky that it was Chiba, one of the few boys in Class E who weren't perverted (some others include Nagisa and Isogai).

Chiba was still feeling very awkward that there were no bangs covering his eyes. It was probably the first time in years he had exposed his eyes for five seconds or longer. But then technically it wasn't his eyes, it was Hayami's eyes.

"We should probably move forward." Chiba said.

"Yes, we should." Hayami replied.

There was a pregnant silence as they both watched their classmates going crazy because of their bodies switching. They tried very hard not to look at each other as it would totally weird them out. But despite the slightly awkward situation, they did not complain and tried their best to keep their professionalism, looking cooly forward.

So when everyone had finally calmed down (finally!) no one really noticed that they had also switched bodies.

"WHAT IS IT WITH THEIR SUPER ADAPTING ABILITY?!" the class had yelled at them when they literally noticed zero difference between them.

Maybe they were just so close with each other that they could easily adapt being in the other's body. Or maybe they were just really good at hiding their feelings of weirdness.

" _Or maybe, they are just two fragments of the same soul, so a mere body change would not affect them. Chiba-kun and Hayami-san are confirmed to be soulmates!_ " Koro-sensei, in Itona's body, theorized about them. His (or Itona's) eyes were glittering, and his expression was that of a typical fanboy.

"..."

Chiba and Hayami made no comment to this.

* * *

"We're finally back," Maehara sighed as the gang saw the 3-E campus in the distance. He wiped sweat off his brow. "This was one weird and tiring day."

"Yeah," Isogai agreed with his friend. "I did not expect us to switch bodies."

"And I got your bug too," Maehara said. "Seriously, who wears only half of their armour in front and nothing at the back? Your bug also made the back of my clothes disappear." Maehara turned his head to look at his back, his clothes now back to normal. He wrinkled his nose. "But maybe chicks will like my butt?"

"No." Isogai and Kataoka said in unison. "But maybe Hinata-chan will!" Kataoka said cheerfully. She was in a good mood because of a very special incident.

"You two got it easy," Kataoka said to Isogai and Maehara. "You've been best friends since forever. But me, had to switch bodies with _Okajima_ of all people!"

"Well, at least you stopped him from groping you," Isogai said, ever optimistic. "Or at least your body."

"Yeah," Kataoka smiled cheerfully. "At least it didn't get worse! _And now I'm safe and sound from impure touches!_ "

"Um, okay." Isogai said, sweatdropping when he saw Kataoka prancing in delight.

"Okajima's really depressed." Maehara noted with a grin, as said bald boy sighed continuously.

"I missed the golden chance to grope boobs!" Okajima moaned desperately. "I'm going to regret this for the rest of my life! AAAAARGH NOOO!"

"I actually agree with you, Okajima, I miss big boobs…" Kayano said sadly, looking down at her flat chest. She had switched with Yada and for a few glorious minutes she had experienced the difference between non-existing boobs and big boobs.

"To be honest, I don't think you even have boobs," Itona coolly remarked this to Kayano. The green-haired girl glared at Itona. "You shuddup! I'm going to have big boobs one day, just you see it!"

Koro-sensei slithered up to the small group, petting Kayano's head in an effort to calm her. "Ah, am I so grateful to be back in my own body! My slithery slippery tentacles are back!"

Koro-sensei initially switched with Itona, but when everyone else switched back, Koro-sensei switched with a minor monster. Which lead to another scuffle, and it took the combined effort and magic of the gang to change him back. They had even called Ritsu at one point for backup.

"Koro-sensei, you should stop using my body to do even funnier poses than I do," Itona said seriously to his teacher.

"I couldn't help it," Koro-sensei replied sheepishly, as images of Itona moving at Mach speed without an expression on his face floated through the others minds. It was totally hilarious.

"Just like you couldn't help but put that swimsuit on me!" Nagisa chose this moment to butt in and questioned Karma loudly.

"Ooh yeah that swimsuit," Maehara cackled. "That swimsuit which no one could ever resist. The one that would lure in prey and enchant them. It's perfect for Nagisa."

"I second Maehara," Karma said with his devil's grin. Nagisa sighed. Karma would never really change. "It would be the only chance I would be able to get into your body, so of course I had to do everything I could."

"I should be the one to take the swimsuit!" Bitch-sensei yelled angrily. Then her expression changed to a dreamy one and she bit her lip in a flirty way. "Then I can finally seduce Karasuma…"

"Dream on." Karasuma said sharply. "That will _never_ happen." He remembered when he and Bitch-sensei had swapped bodies and Bitch-sensei tried to kiss him, the class tied her up. Which would be fine, but Bitch-sensei was in Karasuma's body, so when they switched back Karasuma suddenly found himself bound with ropes.

"Why do people become instant perverts when switched with the opposite sex?" Kataoka sighed, getting tired of Okajima's wails (which were slowly increasing in volume).

"Well, not all." Isogai gestured to Chiba and Hayami, who were walking behind them in silence.

At his words, Okajima froze and turned to look at Chiba. He slowly started to smile, but stopped midway, so his face was frozen in a half-smile and a half-grimace.

"Sometimes I forgot you two switched…" Nagisa said, laughing awkwardly.

"You two are really similar," Kayano agreed.

Chiba and Hayami just stared at them, not saying a thing.

"...Like, you two switched bodies and you had almost no reaction." Kataoka said. "You guys are either really good and being expressionless or are so similar to each other that switching bodies don't matter at all." She looked at them in appreciation. "The bond between you two must be really strong."

Maehara mock coughed. "Yes, they _are_ similar, but one is a boy and the other is girl…"

 _You just noticed?!_ Chiba and Hayami wanted to yell at him, but kept quiet.

Okajima's eyes slowly started to widen and his jaw dropped comically.

"Uhh, Okajima?" Yada asked cautiously. His expression was spooking her.

"You're a boy." Okajima said to Chiba, still with his starry eyes.

"As if I'm a girl." Chiba said sarcastically, wondering what the hell was wrong with Okajima.

Okajima turned to Hayami. "And you're a girl."

"Do I look like a boy?" Hayami replied. She wasn't all girly girly but still she felt insulted.

Okajima walked up to Chiba and started shaking his shoulders, their cloaks flapping wildly with the movement. Chiba started to back away but Okajima wouldn't let him.

"Dude, you switched places with a girl! A girl! SO YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT I FEEL!" Okajima hollered into Chiba's ear.

"Don't go and corrupt his mind!" Kataoka yelled angrily.

"Well since Chiba sits behind Okajima he's already kind of corrupted…" Yada muttered.

"YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE TEMPTATION! THE WILD URGES! THE PASSIONATE DESIRES!" Okajima continued yelling, his arms flapping like a windmill.

"Not really." Chiba muttered calmly.

"See?" Kataoka smirked smugly. "Chiba's one of the few boys in 3-E who aren't perverted. Get lost, Okajima!"

"B-but…" Okajima's lip trembled. It was kind of pathetic to watch. "YOU SWITCHED PLACES WITH HAYAMI! I would _kill_ to be in your place!"

"Say that again?" Hayami glared at Okajima coldly, pulling out a pistol..

"Oh… huh, nothing…" Okajima laughed awkwardly when he also saw Chiba drawing out his rifle.

"Ooh, nothing?" Karma teased. "I sit at the back of the class and I basically see _everything._ I saw you look at Hayami a lot during lessons… is there a reason?" He trailed off.

"What if he's having a lot of impure thoughts?" Maehara grinned, adding fuel to the fire.

Even though no one could see Chiba's eyes, Okajima still felt them glaring daggers at him. To make matters worse they started aiming their guns at him.

With a shudder, Okajima remembered their bugs. Both of them involved being shot between the legs no matter what, which was definitely not pleasant.

"Uh, illbegoingnow and I ship you two bye!" Okajima yelled then ran away.

And smashed headfirst into Nakamura.

"Oh, hi Okajima," the blonde girl said, completely unruffled and waiting outside the classroom for the returning classmates. "What's up? What took you guys so long?"

They all looked at each other. "It's a long story," Isogai said finally. "Like a really long story."

* * *

"WHOA! So you guys changed bodies?!" Nakamura yelled loudly. "This is wicked!"

"It had been a weird experience…" Nagisa laughed.

Okajima was still bawling his eyes out. "Boohoohoo… I missed the chance! Aaaargh WHY?!"

"Serves you right," Kataoka said.

"Oh, Nakamura, here's a picture of Nagisa in a swimsuit," Karma took out the picture and showed it to Nakamura.

"Oooh!" Nakamura grinned. "Nagisa- _chan_ , you look really good in that swimsuit!"

"Can you stop mentioning it?" Nagisa asked, tired of them. "And for the hundredth time, I'm a _boy_!"

"Yeah yeah whatever," Nakamura muttered, not really listening. She suddenly perked up. "So Chiba and Hayami switched places too?"

"Yup."

"Oh my gosh!" Fuwa suddenly butted in. "My OTP is real! Giyaaa!" she screamed happily.

"Fuwa, what…" Nagisa and Kayano looked at Fuwa weirdly.

Fuwa straightened herself and looked at the group in the eye. "Okay guys, here's a question. What happens when a boy and a girl switch bodies?"

"The boy becomes a pervert?" Kataoka suggested.

"Buu buu! No." Fuwa wagged her finger. "I'll tell you what will happen. _Kimi No Nawa_ happens!"

"Oh. You mean the movie?" Nakamura asked.

"Yes!" Fuwa replied, and they could all see a glint in her eyes. "We could replace the main characters in the movie with Chiba and Hayami and BOOM we have a romance!"

There was total silence for five seconds. Hayami and Chiba looked at Fuwa as coldly as ever.

"WE COULD WRITE A FANFICTION!" Nakamura squealed, jumping right up. "That's what we all need! Kimi No Nawa and Assassination Classroom crossover! With the ultimate couple Chiba and Hayami! _Yes_!"

"I'll draw them!" Sugaya popped in.

"I'll write the story!" Nakamura said (way too) enthusiastically.

"I'll help with the writing parts." Kanzaki smiled gently, a pen already in her hand.

"I'll search for the tropes!" Fuwa grinned.

"I'll help to promote it!" Mimura joined in happily.

"I'll reveal secret gossip I collected from the sniper combo!" Koro-sensei appeared before them suddenly.

"I'll make pudding for everyone!" Kayano smiled.

"I'll make snacks to keep everyone full and happy!" Hara said, shoving rice into her mouth as she ate frantically.

"The last two aren't even relevant…" Nagisa sweatdropped.

"...Seriously?" Hayami asked as she looked upon the group of classmates that had gathered around.

"Yes!" Everyone including Koro-sensei agreed loudly. Sugaya had somehow whipped up a banner in five seconds with the words in golden glitter "WE SHIP CHIBAHAYA" and was now waving it wildly.

There was a sudden noise from Ritsu. Everybody turned to look at the sheet of paper coming out of Ritsu's body. Nakamura took it and her eyes widened. "Ooh this is cool!"

"I copied Chiba-kun and Hayami-san on the main characters on the poster of Kimi No Nawa, it can aid Sugaya-kun in his drawing," Ritsu explained as Nakamura handed the paper to Sugaya.

 _Even Ritsu ships us,_ Chiba and Hayami thought, sweatdropping.

"But that's not magic," Mimura said to Ritsu. "That's photoshopping and printing."

"It's magic."

"No it's not," Mimura argued.

Ritsu's eyes darkened. "It's magic," she repeated.

"Okay fine, whatever." Mimura gulped. He didn't want Ritsu to go back to her emotionless robot state.

As Sugaya frantically scribbled on a piece of paper, Nakamura and Fuwa started to plot the story.

"Hmm...how should we start the story?"

"The movie started with a narration about the star falling from the sky which prompted the switching bodies thing." Fuwa noted.

"But honestly… even if they changed bodies nothing much would happen," Kayano informed them.

"But if they don't do so it will be no fun…" Nakamura whined. She perked up suddenly. "What if we rename it from _Your Name_ to _Your Eyes_? Since no one ever really saw Chiba's eyes."

"I can perform a scan to see Chiba-kun's eyes behind his bangs." Ritsu said cheerfully.

"But that's not magic." Mimura said again.

" _It is magic._ " Ritsu glared at Mimura for a second before going back to being cheerful.

Meanwhile, Nakamura and Fuwa had started a huge debate about the storyline. Nagisa and Kayano pulled them away from each other to stop "accidents" from happening. Kataoka was still yelling at Okajima for his perverted thoughts, and Karma just sat in his seat calmly.

"What's all this fuss~~ I can write an even better fanfiction in half the time."

A pan fell on his head and then it clattered to the floor, Karma still smiling smugly.

Chiba and Hayami looked at the mess their class was. Koro-sensei was flitting about around Sugaya, giving him advice on drawing. Mimura was asking Ritsu to search for pictures. Kayano was trying to conjure pudding out of thin air. Hara was still eating.

 _What is wrong with this class?_ They both thought. Deciding she wanted a break, Hayami turned around and signaled Chiba to follow her. Together, they exited the noisy classroom, armed with their guns.

"Our class is strange," Hayami informed Chiba.

"I know." Chiba replied.

They walked away from the campus and into the woods, until they reached a small clearing where the voices of their classmates turned faint. They silently drew some targets and started to practice shooting.

Hayami watched Chiba shoot several bullseyes in a row. She secretly marvelled at his marksmanship.

"I really respect you. Let's get along together from now on."

"Thanks." Chiba said and they did their familiar arm bump.

Chiba coached Hayami on marksmanship and in turn, Hayami coached Chiba on shooting moving targets. Cool and silent, they worked efficiently together.

Unlike what was happening in the classroom.

"WE NEED A LOVE TRIANGLE!"

"No!" Nakamura argued. "There is _no one_ who can form a love triangle with the ChibaHaya ship!"

"But that's what happens in the movies!" Fuwa yelled.

"But aren't love triangles a bit clichéd?" Mimura said. Fuwa glared at him. "Yes, it's clichéd, but it's _cute_!" she emphasized the word "cute" by yelling it loudly and everyone had to cover their ears.

"Why is everyone arguing with me today," Mimura sighed, rubbing his head.

Karma smirked. "Nakamura, I'm sure we can make a love triangle. You certainly don't know a lot of things in this class."

"Wha- are you saying I'm stupid?" Nakamura growled. For once, a pan didn't fall on Karma's head, so he wasn't bluffing.

"For one, you don't know who else can make a love triangle." Karma gestured to Okajima, who was struggling out of Kataoka's death grip.

Nakamura and Fuwa stared at him. "Please don't us tell we're supposed to make a love triangle between Isogai, Kataoka and Okajima."

Karma grinned. "No! Didn't you notice? That the class pervert has taken a little liking to our resident tsundere?"

The whole class turned so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone turned to Chiba's empty seat, expecting him to do something, but he was gone. Hayami had also disappeared without anyone noticing.

"HEHHHHHHHH?!" Koro-sensei screamed loudly, so loudly Chiba and Hayami could hear it over at their practice spot.

"That sounds like Koro-sensei," Chiba said as he shot calmly.

"I think that sounds like a girl more." Hayami replied.

"Karma! YOU IDIOT!" Okajima screeched, and managed to get away from Kataoka and punched Karma in the face.

"What?" Karma asked idly, avoiding Okajima's punches. "It's kind of obvious."

"NO. IT'S NOT." The rest of the class said in unison, still in shock.

"We weren't supposed to know that!" Fuwa gasped. "I remember it now! It was never revealed in the anime?"

"What anime?!" Everyone else asked incredulously.

"It was only revealed in the Character Relationships Map!" Fuwa said frantically. "We are _not_ supposed to know about that! _We are becoming self aware_!"

"What the heck is that map?" Okajima asked loudly, trying to cover up the noises of Koro-sensei screaming.

"Fuwa, stop making weird stuff up…" Mimura tried to say to the girl.

Fuwa was pissed off. "Mimura, it's not fake! IT IS 100% REAL!" and then she kicked him in the groin in annoyance.

Cue sighs of sympathy from the males of the class.

"Ow!" Mimura curled up on the floor, gritting his teeth in pain. "Does every girl hate me today?"

"Ritsu, erase that information about Okajima liking Hayami from everyone please!" Fuwa commanded.

"Fuwa-san, that is dangerous and complicated magic, would you like to proce-"

"NO." The class said.

"Yes!" Okajima said at the same time. Everyone stared at him. "Uh, well…"

"Since only one person agreed to erase the memory, I will not proceed." Ritsu said cheerfully.

"At least we know who we should protect from Okajima." Kataoka muttered, with an evil glint in her eye.

"But she's probably more than capable of doing it herself," Yada pointed out.

"Besides, Chiba sits behind Okajima. That should solve everything." Nakamura said.

There was silence.

"You're right," Kataoka agreed. "Problem solved."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Okajima asked, a bit spooked.

"Okay, back to business," Nakamura said, ignoring Okajima and everyone went back to what they were doing. "Fuwa, you are right! We _can_ make a love triangle!"

"Yay!" Fuwa cheered. "But then we'll expose Okajima's secret!"

"Who cares?" Nakamura said, already busily writing the script.

"I DO!" Okajima hollered, face red and still very much embarrassed.

* * *

On the hill, Chiba and Hayami continued to shoot and coach each other. Sometimes they could hear faint noises from the classroom. After some time, they decided to take a rest. They sat side by side and looked at the classroom from a spot on the hill.

"Hayami," Chiba said and the peach haired girl turned to him. "Thanks for not revealing my eyes back then."

Hayami shuggered. "It's alright. I know you really don't want people to see your eyes."

There was a short silence as Hayami fiddled with the end of one of her pigtails. "And also…" she avoided looking at Chiba. "Thanks for… well, not being Okajima."

"Mmm." Chiba said, not really wanting to reply. "I do think that our classmates were a bit over dramatic when they changed bodies."

"Yeah." Hayami said and there was silence between the two again. "It's not that weird, is it?"

* * *

Meanwhile Koro-sensei sneaked up the hill, holding something in his tentacles.

"This gem will cause them to switch bodies temporarily again! I nicked it from that chest. Nurufufufu!" Koro-sensei grinned. "Then we can see more shippy stuff about them!"

* * *

Chiba stood up silently and Hayami took it as cue to start practicing again. Before they could take another step, Koro-sensei flung the gem in mid air and dashed away. The gem casted light all over the clearing and blinded the two snipers (again).

 _I have a bad feeling about this…_ Chiba thought.

 _Not again…_ Hayami thought.

When the light faded, they weren't at all surprised to find themselves in different bodies. In fact, they totally expected it.

"Who could have…" Hayami said out loud then in her vision (slightly blocked by bangs) she saw something yellow dart away. "Koro-sensei!"

Chiba tried to raise his rifle only to discover he didn't have a rifle because he was in Hayami's body and she only had pistols.

 _Well fine,_ Chiba thought. He took the pistol anyway and fired at the yellow blur he could see. To his surprise, his reflexes were quicker and his (or Hayami's, he did not care) fingers moved a lot faster. He guessed it had something to do with Hayami being more agile.

Hayami took Chiba's rifle and fired. She was still unused to Chiba's bangs so her aim was off. But after firing for a while she was able to utilize them to her advantage. She used the bangs to block off some space to have a more accurate aim.

Koro-sensei gave a small "eep" and dodged the shots. He was not expecting Chiba and Hayami to immediately react when they had just switched bodies.

"You okay?" Hayami asked Chiba.

"Yes." Chiba replied and a shot came very close to Koro-sensei's head. At almost the same time Hayami's shot nearly hit the other side of Koro-sensei's head.

The snipers smirked in unison; it seemed like not even switching bodies could stop them from being so in sync with each other.

In the classroom, the students gradually realized Koro-sensei was missing and they could hear gunfire on top of the hill.

"Seems like the snipers are trying to assassinate him," Isogai said.

"Should we assist them?" Kataoka wondered.

"Let's go anyway," Nakamura declared and put her draft on her desk. She walked out of the classroom and everyone followed her.

On the hill, Chiba and Hayami continued their assault. Since Chiba was not used to shooting from various poses like Hayami, their shooting level had been lowered a bit. But that didn't mean they were less determined though.

Chiba continuously shot at places around Koro-sensei to block his escape route and Hayami shot at Koro-sensei, trying to hit him. Light from the guns filled the clearing.

Hayami could see Chiba could only wield one pistol. "Give me that." she said to the boy. He tossed the other pistol at her and she caught it.

The other students walked to the clearing and indeed saw the snipers shooting Koro-sensei. Hayami used the pistol to shoot Koro-sensei and put the rifle down for a bit.

Some students looked confused. "Hmm… Chiba-kun doesn't usually use a pistol when he can use a rifle." Nagisa observed, who had no idea they switched places.

"Maybe it's a new tactic." Karma said.

Despite their conditions, they worked together as perfectly as ever and the blasts of lights came faster and closer to Koro-sensei.

"Niuyaaa!" Koro-sensei screeched and swerved wildly to avoid being shot. Chiba and Hayami took it as a cue that they are succeeding. They exchanged one look and suddenly they seemed to have full understanding of what the other was going to do.

Chiba, in Hayami's body, was going to surround Koro-sensei with shots.

Hayami, in Chiba's body, would use a pistol to help Chiba until at the last moment she would switch to using a rifle.

Koro-sensei could sense the snipers thinking of something, but luckily for him, the spell that made them switch bodies was about to reverse so that might cause some confusion for them. Mucus formed on his forehead and his eyes glinted. _Let's see whether you two can pass the ultimate test._

Suddenly, without any sign or warning prior, Chiba and Hayami returned to their own bodies. In shock, they nearly dropped their pistols.

Chiba looked at the pistol he was loosely grasping around and without a second thought, he flung it to Hayami.

Without even looking at Chiba, Hayami caught the pistol and rapidly fired at the areas around Koro-sensei using both pistols. They both grinned when they realized they were back to their full potential.

Chiba readied his rifle and peered through the scope. Hayami was doing a fabulous job at distracting and trapping Koro-sensei. Chiba carefully calculated the shooting distance and pulled the trigger.

Everyone watched as the brilliant beam of light zoomed towards their teacher, and then-

SPLAT! A wiggly tentacle laid on the floor, squirming around. Koro-sensei looked at it nervously, mucus dripping off his body.

Both Hayami and Chiba wasted no time in firing more shots. Both of their shots came very close to Koro-sensei, too close for his comfort. He frantically darted around until he was free of the shots and zoomed away at Mach speed.

Isogai sighed. "You two were so close…"

Chiba and Hayami stonily looked at each other before looking at Isogai together. Their movements were still creepily in sync and Isogai was spooked for a few seconds.

The class heard a ruffle of leaves and Koro-sensei burst out of the bushes, holding the huge ChibaHaya banner Sugaya had made earlier. Leaves and golden glitter scattered on the ground.

"Koro-sensei, don't make my banner dirty!" Sugaya was surprised but he had to remind his teacher.

Koro-sensei's grin was even wider than usual. "No problem, Sugaya-kun." Koro-sensei faced the snipers, who looked slightly confused. "Chiba-kun, Hayami-san…"

A drum roll sounded from Ritsu. Nagisa sweatdropped. "Seriously… Ritsu…"

"YOU TWO HAVE PASSED THE TEST!" Koro-sensei screamed happily while celebratory confetti sprayed out behind him. He started dancing and waving the ChibaHaya banner.

Chiba and Hayami shared another confused glance.

"Um. What test." Chiba spoke for the both of them.

"THE ULTIMATE TEST FOR COUPLES!" Koro-sensei continued to scream. His tentacles started to move quickly at Mach speed in excitement and the leaves fluttered up. "You have managed to come close to killing me even when in different bodies, _and_ experiencing the switch in the middle of your assassination!"

There was silence except for Koro-sensei who was still whooping in delight.

"Wait, they switched bodies? Again?" Kataoka asked, interested.

"Again? _Again?_ You mean this phenomenon is still happening?" Okajima asked, eyes widening and his body started to tremble from sheer joy.

Hayami raised her pistol slightly and shot Okajima between the legs. Ignoring the boy's screams of pain, Hayami said cooly, "Sorry, my hand slipped."

"This proves that Chiba-kun and Hayami-san can shoot just as well in different bodies, and even at crucial moments they can clearly know what the other is thinking!" Koro-sensei continued to say quickly and excitedly. He finally settled down and there was a glint in his eye. "This proves that… _the snipers are soulmates and their hearts and bodies are linked_!" He finished dramatically.

An enthusiastic Fuwa clapped her hands. "ChibaHaya! ChibaHaya!" she chanted.

"ChibaHaya! ChibaHaya!" the rest of the class and Koro-sensei joined in.

However, Chiba and Hayami were not amused and sweatdropped.

"Honestly, we just had to practice a lot to know what the other is thinking." Chiba said.

"Yeah, it's not what you think it is," Hayami agreed.

"TSUNDERE!" Okajima and Takebayashi yelled in unison, despite the former being still in pain. Hayami glared at them but didn't say anything.

"Mm. Nice work, both of you." Everyone turned to see Karasuma and Bitch-sensei walking towards them. Karasuma had a proud look on his face. "I taught you two well." he said rather smugly. "You two can easily be the best snipers in our country."

"Thank you." Chiba and Hayami said to Karasuma.

"Hmm… if they had a child… with proper training and those genes that child has potential to be the best sniper in the world…" Karasuma added in an undertone, thinking no one could hear him. In fact, everybody could.

"..." Chiba and Hayami didn't say anything.

"We heard that!" Nakamura exclaimed. She turned to the snipers. "Now go on and make a kid! We'll give you privacy!"

The snipers looked at her if she was mad.

Karasuma continued to think. "Hmm… if only they get married and have kids…"

"Karasuma-sensei," Isogai asked. "Do you only ship ChibaHaya because you want their child to be a sniper?"

Karasuma didn't reply but everyone could mostly guess his response.

"Hey, Karasuma…" Bitch-sensei said flirtatiously. She leaned closer to Karasuma and whispered in his ear. " _I'm_ the hottest female alive, and _you're_ the hottest male alive. What if we…" she trailed off suggestively.

"No." Karasuma said curtly and ignored Bitch-sensei.

"But seriously if you two don't get married I'll force you two to be." Fuwa said rather aggressively to Chiba and Hayami.

"Erm…" They didn't know what to say.

"Let's welcome the ultimate ship ChibaHaya!" Nakamura yelled at the sky and her voice echoed all over the hill.

"The ultimate ship ChibaHaya!" the class cheered except for the snipers who looked at them when a deadpanned expression.

Yada looked thoughtful. "But what about Bitch-sensei and Karasuma-sensei-"

"ALL HAIL CHIBAHAYA!" Kurahashi cheered loudly to drown Yada's voice. "CHIBAHAYA CHIBAHAYA!"

"Eh." Chiba and Hayami looked at each other. Koro-sensei suddenly appeared before them and quickly dressed them in wedding outfits. Hayami was in a white wedding dress with a veil and Chiba was in a suit with a white rose. They both blushed, embarrassed.

Ritsu summoned some birds to hold the ChibaHaya banner made by Sugaya above the sniper couple.

"...and now I declare you husband and wife!" Koro-sensei was saying. "You may kiss the-"

"This doesn't make sense at all!" Mimura yelled as fragrant flower petals started to rain from the sky.

"It's a spin off anime! Nothing makes sense!" Fuwa answered him, also yelling.

Mimura frowned. "But this isn't an anime-"

His voice was drowned by everyone screaming "ChibaHaya wedding!"

Mimura face palmed. "Ugh, if only I can stop them from shipping now."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay this is one of the silliest things I've ever written… must be the influence of Koro Q.**

 **Next chapter will be a birthday chapter dedicated to our Adult Game Protagonist! Stay tuned!**

 **Please read and review!**


	6. Happy Birthday, Chiba

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Happy Birthday, Chiba 20/5

Ever since Koro-sensei became the teacher of Class E, he had enthusiastically tried to bond with his students.

One particular thing he did was to mass celebrate someone's birthday. First, he would hang up banners all over the classroom, then fling confetti everywhere. He would sing the birthday song loudly and the slightly reluctant classmates would join in. Koro-sensei originally wanted to buy everyone a piece of cake when it was their birthday, but the class insisted he didn't have to (since they all knew about Koro-sensei's sweet tooth).

He had also created a board which he had posted everyone's birthdays on it. It was very colourful and eye-catching and it had little hand-drawn pictures of 3-E students. They appreciated Koro-sensei's effort (after all, he was the first and possibly the last teacher to really care about them, the Class E losers) but sometimes they felt slightly smothered and a bit exasperated.

One day Hayami walked past the board and noted that Chiba's birthday was two weeks away. She suddenly wondered if she was obliged to give him a present. After all, it was a well known fact that they were the closest to each other in the class. But even then they still felt slightly awkward around each other because they had only known each other for a month and half and most of the time they just talked about assassination or studies.

Even with that, Hayami guessed she was the most likely person in 3-E to give him a gift. But she had no idea what to give him.

To make matters worse, the birthday board was placed in the corridor, so everytime Hayami passed it (which was pretty often) she would feel a tiny stab of guilt.

It had been a long time since Hayami had gotten anyone a birthday present. She wasn't really close to her parents and she didn't have a lot of friends. She knew she and Chiba were definitely friends, although they preferred the term "partners". Friends should get each other gifts, right?

So with that, Hayami decided to make a list of all things she knew about Chiba (which was admittedly short):

He works best with a rifle

His specialty is long distance sniping

His marksmanship is the best in the class

He likes maths

He has long bangs covering his eyes for unknown reasons

His birthday is the twentieth of May

He is a boy

Hayami cringed. Now she was just getting desperate. Why was she stating obvious facts about him? She really knew nothing about him.

Hayami decided to stand up and walk for a bit, because she spent half of her break sitting there and thinking. She stood up and out of the corner of her eye she saw Sugaya hiding something in a suspicious way when he saw her standing up.

Naturally she was intrigued but she didn't like to stick into other people's business. But then she saw that Sugaya had been drawing a familiar figure.

"Sugaya… is that me…?" She asked curtly.

Sugaya's expression was one that of _oh, crap._ He hastily arranged his face into a half smile. "Uh, yeah."

"Can I see it?"

Precisely at that moment Sugaya was thinking _SHE'S TALKING TO A BOY OTHER THAN CHIBA_ but he said, "Oh, okay," and handed Hayami the piece of paper.

Hayami took it and saw Sugaya had done an amazingly accurate drawing of her sitting in her chair. It was only a rough draft but it was pretty detailed. But then she realized the only way it could be this detailed was to literally draw her throughout the whole lesson.

Sugaya spent a whole lesson drawing her. He spent a whole lesson putting this much effort into a drawing. Most importantly, _he spent a whole lesson looking at her._

Hayami just stared at the drawing, not sure what to do. She wasn't sure if Sugaya was a pervert like Okajima (whom she had the misfortune of sitting next to). But still it was kind of creepy.

Sugaya couldn't read Hayami's mood very well but even then he could feel something in the atmosphere change. It suddenly became very bizarre and awkward.

Cue uncomfortable silence for three seconds.

Hayami put down the drawing at Sugaya's desk, expression unreadable. "That's a good drawing," she said and walked away.

 _Uh… what just happened?_ Sugaya thought weirdly. He watched Hayami sit back down and added a few pencil strokes to his drawing of the girl.

Hayami decided not to think too much about Sugaya. But actually drawing wasn't a bad idea in itself. The only problem was that she wasn't really good at drawing. Sure, she could draw, but it was average.

Besides, what would she draw? A rifle? Or a target for him to practice?

So Hayami thought briefly about handmade gifts, but they were too sappy for her. Cook for him? Not him a birthday card? Possible, but it won't be very practical. Knit him a scarf? Where did _that_ come from? _And why would he need a scarf when it's almost summer?_

"Hayami." An all-too-familiar voice cut through the peach haired girl's thoughts.

 _Speak of the devil._ "Chiba." Hayami acknowledged.

The boy was standing next to her chair, his mysterious black bangs covering his eyes as always. To this day Hayami hadn't even seen a glimpse of his eyes. She wondered what he had to tell her.

"Karasuma-sensei asked me to tell you that he'll like to coach us for an hour after school." Chiba said.

 _Oh. It's just assassination._ Hayami thought, somehow a bit disappointed.

It had always been like that. They would work together perfectly well during assassination or even as study buddies. But outside of that, their relationship would suddenly become awkward and a bit strained.

"Hayami?" Chiba asked when he saw the girl was starting to space out.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine with that." Hayami said. She looked up and saw the boy looking down at her, therefore creating eye contact (despite Chiba's eyes being not visible). They both averted their eyes to look at some place else.

There was an awkward silence for three seconds before Chiba walked away rather abruptly since neither of them knew how to deal with the space between them.

After school, they got their guns and went outside to practice with Karasuma. Wordlessly they shot bullet after bullet, listening to Karasuma's occasional comments and then slightly adjusting their positions.

They shot at a target which was drawn to look like Koro-sensei's head. Their bullets hit the board at the same time. Chiba hit the target bullseye and Hayami nearly hit the bullseye and was only slightly off. They lowered the guns at the same time and looked at each other, startled because they were so in sync. Chiba offered a small grin and she returned the smile. They were proud of working so efficiently together.

Karasuma nodded approvingly. His students were making good progress and these two were especially hard working.

After the coaching session, Chiba and Hayami were tasked to sweep away the BB bullets they had shot.

Chiba reached for a broom at the same time Hayami did and their hands brushed past each other. As if burned, they yanked their hands away and stared coolly away from each other. Hayami peeked at the boy and saw that he wasn't looking at the brooms.

Three seconds later Hayami cautiously ventured for the other broom next to the first broom only for Chiba to think the same and their hands touched again.

Blushing furiously, they both waited for another five seconds before Chiba snatched the broom closest to him quickly and walked away. Hayami took the other broom and sighed internally. They were utterly incapable of communicating outside work and as a consequence they wasted time.

Wordlessly but somewhat efficiently, they swept away the bullets. They did not attempt to look at the other.

After saying goodbye to Karasuma, they made their way down the stairs, a sizable gap between them.

Chiba stared at the steps in front of him as he descended. He could hear both his and Hayami's footsteps at a steady pace.

Suddenly, all the cooperation they had in training disappeared. It felt like there was a wall between them. When they weren't in training, they were nothing more than strangers.

Chiba felt a shiver down his spine. Strangers. He didn't associate that word with Hayami, but when he thought about it, that was what they really were. Strangers.

It was deeply ironic how well they could work together in assassination, but without that they just fell apart.

They walked down the stairs silently, footsteps echoing until they reached a fork in the road where they would part. Hayami's footsteps slowed.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said.

"Likewise." He said.

They walked in different directions, away from each other.

* * *

Hayami had given up on getting Chiba a present. She didn't know what he liked and she was sure if she gave him a present it would be very awkward. And then she would say something along the lines of "don't get the wrong idea".

So she behaved normally when she walked about the stairs to school with her partner (which was not saying a thing).

Hayami felt bad about the way she said "happy birthday" to Chiba so curtly. She didn't mean it like that, honestly she didn't.

It hurt a bit when she saw Okajima clap a hand on Chiba's shoulder and say "happy birthday" to the boy excitedly. Even though the class thought the sniper duo were the closest to each other, someone else could behave more warmly to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chiba saw a yellow blur outside the classroom. He knew exactly what it was and what it was going to do.

"Happy birthday!" Koro-sensei screeched as he entered the classroom, spreading confetti everywhere. Some landed on Chiba's hair and after a few seconds of doing nothing Chiba swept the confetti away robotically, careful not to move his bangs.

"Happy birthday to our dear Chiba-kun!" Koro-sensei continued to yell excitedly and put up banners at Mach speed. He moved around Chiba quickly, while making a birthday speech for him. Chiba had to put a hand on his bangs to stop them from fluttering up due to Koro-sensei moving quickly. Koro-sensei jabbed on and on, while the rest of the students look at Chiba with something that resembled pity.

Hayami was suddenly grateful that her birthday took place right when the summer holidays began.

Chiba was embarrassed because firstly, everyone was looking right at him and secondly, he was sure Koro-sensei had paid more attention to his birthday than anyone (including his parents) had ever paid.

"Now we sing the birthday song! Everyone, together!" Koro-sensei announced after a one minute long speech about Chiba.

Chiba looked at his teacher. "Sensei, I appreciate your efforts but I don't think that's really necessary…" he trailed when he realized everyone's staring had intensified when he began to speak.

"A birthday only happens once in a year! It's a special date! We must celebrate it!" Koro-sensei waved his tentacles around, resembling seaweed. Students had thought Koro-sensei was a bit too excited on their birthday but Koro-sensei insisted everyone had to celebrate.

Rather awkwardly, everyone joined in the singing, even Hayami. But no one felt more awkward than Chiba. He wanted to curl up and disappear from the surface of the Earth. His face stayed as expressionless as ever.

 _This is so embarrassing…_

Hayami felt bad for the boy but knew she couldn't do anything so after singing (which was admittedly soft) she returned coolly to her work.

In the PE lesson, they focused on knifework. Karasuma let Isogai and Maehara try to hit him as demonstration. The class watched as the boys came up with different strategies to hit Karasuma, but the teacher dodged all of their blows.

Finally, Karasuma said, "You can stop now." Panting, Isogai and Maehara put down their arms while Karasuma didn't even break a sweat.

"It was better than the last time." Karasuma said. "Last time you just tried to hit me, but today you came up tactics."

Karasuma continued to talk to the class about the importance of tactics and cooperation.

"Teamwork is vital in your assassination, especially when you're working in a class because I doubt you can pull it off on your own." Karasuma told them.

This struck a chord in Chiba. As a highly individualistic person, he tended to do everything on his own. He even did his sniping on his own when the class was first tasked with the mission. It wasn't until Karasuma requested him and Hayami to work together did they become sniping partners. But even with that there was still an awkward distance between them.

The same thing came to Hayami's mind. She looked at Chiba who sitting in front of her. Hayami quietly listened to Karasuma while a plan began to form in her mind. She took a deep breath to steady herself because she felt nervous just thinking about it.

After school, Hayami waited for most of her classmates to leave, except for Chiba, because it was his turn to clean the classroom. Hayami pretended to read a book, while her mind ran through the plan she had formulated earlier.

Chiba had the distinct feeling Hayami was waiting for him, but why would she? He cleaned the blackboard absentmindedly, the white dust of the chalk rising from the board.

Hayami was getting more and more anxious as Chiba came closer to finish cleaning the classroom. When he did eventually finish, she walked up to him, trying to be casual but she was extremely anxious inside.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before Chiba spoke. "Were you waiting for me?"

Hayami almost said "yes" but that would be weird but "no" would also be weird. So she opened her mouth and closed it. _Such an intelligent reaction_ , she thought.

A few seconds passed again and Hayami wanted to ask Chiba something but her initial courage had faded away and she had no idea what to do.

Fortunately for her, Chiba could see that Hayami was stuck in an awkward place. He hesitatingly offered a small grin in hopes to make her feel less awkward.

Hayami could not look at him. As she made her mind up, she said very quickly, "I would like to know you better."

Chiba slightly raised his eyebrows but that could not be seen.

Hayami flushed slightly, light pink dotting her cheeks. "I didn't mean it in a creepy way! It's because we will be most likely to be working together in the following year and we can't just always be this awkward around each other." she said in a rush.

Chiba was a bit amused by Hayami. He had never seen her even close to being flustered or talk that much.

"Oh, sure." Chiba said.

They sank back into their usual silence and Hayami felt her plan was a utter failure.

But as they walked down the hill, they started sprouting information about themselves.

"I have three sisters, I'm the second eldest."

"I'm a single child."

"My favourite food is boiled egg."

"Mine's beef stroganoff."

They talked like this for a while, since it didn't require for them to talk directly. Soon they came to the topic of birthdays.

"Actually," Hayami said. "I wanted to give you a present, then I realized I didn't know what you liked, so this happened…" she gestured to both of them.

"It's okay." Chiba said. To be honest talking with Hayami and getting both of them to open up was a good present already.

They reached the fork in the road again. Chiba took the left.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he said, smiling a bit.

"Likewise." Hayami said as she returned the smile, echoing his words from yesterday.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for the favourites and follows!**

 **Please read and review! Thanks! :D**


	7. Was That?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Was That…?

One day Fuwa was walking past the corridor after school. She heard some voices from the classroom and stopped to eavesdrop. At first, they were faint but Fuwa pressed her ear against the door and she could hear the voices more clearly.

"You want to try it out?" It was Chiba's voice.

"I'm still thinking about it." It was Hayami's voice who replied. It seemed like the snipers were talking about something.

"This is completely unrelated to assassination or studies." Hayami said.

"Are you saying that we don't communicate outside of work?"

"Well. That's what everyone else believes. And to be honest we don't talk a lot."

"So, if it isn't related to work, you won't talk to me?"

In Fuwa's mind that kind of sounded like Chiba confessing to Hayami. She had to bite her lip to hold back a fangirl squeal.

"No, but this… this is crossing a line. You being so insistent, I mean."

Fuwa thought Hayami might have stolen that line from a manga since she was sure she had heard it somewhere before.

"But still, it won't hurt to try."

There was a pause.

"No." Hayami said decisively. "You can't force me to."

Another pause.

"They say we should give everything a chance."

 _Yes! Give that romance a chance!_ Fuwa was totally into the conversation.

"I already did, once. And it was terrible. There is nothing you can do to change my opinion."

Fuwa wondered what on earth could they be talking about. What if they were talking about...let's say, first kisses? Chiba was asking Hayami to kiss him? Maybe Hayami had been kissed before and she didn't like it?

Fuwa let out a small gasp as images from shoujo manga floated into her mind. Having a dramatic and romantic scene between the two snipers in her mind, Fuwa pushed her ear against the door even harder.

"You actually look rather upset." Hayami mentioned.

Fuwa couldn't see how Hayami could know Chiba was upset since he hid his eyes, but she guessed it was some sort of thing the two had gained after working together for so long. Maybe it was an ability only soulmates could have…!

"I am. But I respect your decision." This time even Fuwa could hear the slight disappointment in Chiba's tone, which was a first since she rarely knew what her classmate really felt.

 _Just kiss already!_ Fuwa screamed internally as she imagined a sorrowful Chiba trying to convince Hayami to love him, but she was plagued by nightmares of being betrayed by her former love. Fuwa's eyes glittered as she weaved a tragic love story about the two in her mind.

There was silence for about ten seconds, which Fuwa imagined to be a meaningful silence as the two decided what to do with their (romantic?) relationship. Would they be passionate lovers? Or sweet and shy like a high school couple? Or would they remain in a platonic relationship forever?

"Fine." Hayami finally agreed. "If only you'll stop bugging me and looking so ridiculously sad about it."

 _Hehe… so Hayami admits that she doesn't like Chiba being sad…_ Fuwa thought sneakily while fighting a grin. _Wait… are they going to..._

She heard a chair being pushed back and footsteps. Someone was walking to the other. Fuwa could almost feel the romantic tension in the air. Unable to contain herself anymore, Fuwa flung open the door with unnecessary force, expecting to catch the two in some romantic position with pink flower petals flying everywhere.

Instead, she saw Hayami putting on some headphones while standing next to Chiba. The snipers looked at Fuwa briefly before going back to their business.

A bit shocked, Fuwa went to her desk and pretended to rummage through it, hoping they would think she was searching for a manga or something.

There was silence for ten more seconds, except for the sound of papers rustling.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't get why you like Japanese punk." Hayami said as she took Chiba's headphones off.

Fuwa froze. So _that_ was what they were talking about? Music taste? Not romantic mushy stuff?

"Well. At least you tried to appreciate it."

Fuwa wanted to facepalm. She had misunderstood the entire situation. Well, taking the snipers' aromantic personalities into account, a conversation like the one she imagined was pretty impossible.

"Let's go back." Hayami suggested.

Fuwa turned just in time to see Hayami and Chiba walk out of the classroom with an obvious distance between them. The girl sighed.

 _Will they ever get together?_

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be longer, I promise!**

 **I would also really like to know how I did. Was it good? Bad? Okay? Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **Thanks for reading anyway!**


	8. Red & Green

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Red & Green

 _All their lives there had been something grey and dreary  
Something blank  
Something missing  
Then one day, two pairs of eyes met  
And in that single moment  
A hidden colour was revealed  
One that you've only heard in descriptions  
In storybooks  
In a fantasy  
One you've never seen before  
But now they're right in front of you  
And you know you've found the one_

From birth, everyone had a colour they couldn't see. That colour was the colour of their soulmate's eyes. When they make eye contact with their soulmate for the first time, they could see the colour. Most people couldn't see colours like black, brown, or blue. Those were common colours.

Hayami Rinka was special.

Her colour was red, which was a rare eye colour. And it wasn't just red. She also couldn't see pink or brownish red. She had a comparatively larger range of colours she couldn't see than most people.

Since red conveyed a sense of danger, and Hayami couldn't see red, she often didn't know she was in danger.

For instance that one time she scraped her knee when she was five and she just looked at the grey liquid coming out before her mom screamed and immediately took care of her wound.

By the time she was ten she looked at the masses of Valentine decorations, all in red or pink, colours she couldn't see. Red was a colour of love, but since she couldn't see that colour, and she was a stoic girl, she couldn't feel as well as normal people do.

At the age of fifteen, Hayami had became a quiet, stern girl who didn't speak unless spoken too. She came off as cold and aloof but she did her work without any complaint.

She was still blind to the colour red but to her credit she could accurately tell when she was in danger and when she wasn't. She grasped the basic concepts of romantic love but couldn't seem to fully understand it.

That, was of course the same year things began to change.

* * *

"Name's Akabane Karma. Aka just like my hair." the boy ruffled his bangs, a teasing smirk on his face. "You can all call me Karma."

Akabane Karma. Hayami had heard of his name back in the main campus where teachers talked in wonder about his grades, then in hatred for his delinquent actions. But finally, she knew the colour of his hair was red (because she never asked).

She watched him try to assassinate their teacher, and fail. Koro-sensei ended up doing his nails somehow.

She stoically kept her face expressionless as the rest of the class laughed at Karma.

Chiba, who sat in front of Karma, could see that Karma was a dangerous individual. He looked outside the window, wondering when the next break was.

Green. The colour of life and rebirth. A natural colour, he was told.

That was the colour he couldn't see. He looked at the grass outside through the curtain of his bangs, but he couldn't see their colour (his inability to see green was one of the reasons he didn't like biology).

Some might ask whether the hiding of his eyes were due to the topic of soulmates. Actually, he didn't hide his eyes in his younger years, but after his peers thought his eyes were scary, he grew his hair to hide them in order to accommodate them. Of course, this lead to other problems like people teasing if he was afraid of finding his soulmate. So Chiba thought no matter what he did he would be a loner anyway.

"Lunch time!" Koro-sensei said cheerfully. "I'm going to Thailand for curry! Goodbye!" and then he sped off.

"How typical of Koro-sensei." Kataoka sighed.

The other students gradually went outside to have their lunch, because it was a sunny day. It would be too boring to be stuck in that old classroom.

Chiba walked outside, holding his lunch box and sat under his usual tree. He couldn't see the layers of green in the leaves, or the fresh blades of grass. But yet he tried to admire the beauty of nature.

Hayami was in the classroom, finishing up a maths question. She absolutely hated to leave anything hanging so she finished the question even if some of her lunchtime would be sacrificed. Hayami took her bento box and walked to the grass. She froze when she saw the masses of her classmates talking and chattering.

Hayami had yet to talk to any of her classmates since the beginning of the school term and she didn't want to start now.

Hayami chose to sit under a tree with another boy whom she knew didn't talk much, like her. So he wouldn't take the initiative to chat and so wouldn't her.

She cautiously walked to the tree and after a moment of hesitation, she quickly sat under the tree, a very visible distance between her and the boy. She opened her bento box and ate briskly.

Chiba saw the usually stoic girl sit under the tree and sneaked a glance at her.

Hayami felt someone was staring at her so she turned around and saw this weird creepy dude with long bangs staring at her. Hayami gave the boy one of her death glares, green eyes glittering before turning coldly away.

Chiba froze when the girl looked back at him. Her eyes… they were something special. They were sharp, cool and shaped so perfectly.

And in that moment, he saw the secret colour in her irises and Chiba blinked.

By the time the boy had recovered, Hayami had already turned away.

Chiba continued to stare, his heart pounding and cheeks oddly flushed. Time seemed to stop as he hoped for the girl to turn around again.

Hayami could still feel the other boy looking at her and felt annoyed. She shifted away slightly.

Chiba suddenly realized he was behaving weirdly, and whipped his head away, still blushing madly. Losing interest in his lunch, he toyed with a blade of grass, admiring its vibrant colour.

 _That colour… green… her eyes…_

His breath hitched. _His soulmate…_

Chiba looked up and saw the different hues of green. Everyone else was talking and laughing as if nothing special had happened, but Chiba knew this was a turning point for him. The deep green hidden in the shadows, the light green of fresh, delicate leaves, the yellowish green when sunlight shone between leaves, it was all a huge palette.

But after the discovery, Chiba had to work hard to get closer to the girl (was her name Hayami?) since he could see she was as quiet as he was, or even more. Chiba also knew since he covered his eyes, she would not know that they were…

He could not bring himself to finish that thought. Still blushing, he quickly ate, hoping that would distract him from his thoughts.

* * *

As it turned out, it _was_ difficult to get close to Hayami.

A couple of other girls, like Yada and Kurahashi tried and tried again to talk to her. She would answer coolly or not answer at all, and that would always put them off.

Karasuma found out Chiba and Hayami were the top gun users in the class, and because of that he paired them together. So far the only minimal conversation they had was about shooting.

Obviously Koro-sensei had tried, and after some time Hayami had opened up a bit but her communication with others was still poor.

After a few weeks of Koro-sensei's continuous effort to make Hayami talk (which mostly failed), Koro-sensei sought out Chiba, whom he thought was the most likely to get close to Hayami.

"Chiba-kun," Koro-sensei said. "You must have noticed how quiet Hayami-san is. I am your target, but I am also your teacher, I have the responsibility to look after my students."

Chiba nodded, not sure what to say. He felt guilty because he had done some research, there was a science paper about how the inability to see red might make the person less able to feel. That might be one of the causes of Hayami's problem.

"From my observation, you and Hayami-san usually work together." Koro-sensei continued. "Therefore you have the highest chance in this class to have her open up, even just slightly. I have tried, but maybe because of the age gap, and that she thinks I am just her target and not her teacher, I have failed many times. So please talk more to Hayami-san and make her feel welcome."

"Okay." Chiba agreed, and then student and teacher parted ways.

* * *

The appearance of the colour green still surprised Chiba sometimes.

Hidden among the bushes and trees, Chiba was surrounded by his special colour, and that made him feel very comfortable yet filled him with a sense of wonder.

Hayami, next to him, wordlessly pointed at a target. Chiba looked through the scope and fired. The bullet landed bullseye.

"Good work." Hayami approved. Chiba thought it was already an improvement that she spoke.

Over the next few months, Chiba and Hayami started to gravitate towards each other, which was natural since they were both quiet and professional, and were both snipers.

"You sure like the grass." Hayami remarked one time at lunch. They were sitting under their usual tree, like how they first met (although the distance between them was smaller now).

Chiba didn't look up as he focused on braiding three blades of grass together. "I like the colour. It feels fresh."

Hayami wrinkled her nose. In the months she had known her partner, he seemed to be drawn to nature. She saw him gazing at trees and leaves occasionally. But by now she was used to it.

"Rinka-chan!" a cheery voiced called. It was Kurahashi, and she was one of the three people in class Hayami allowed to call her by her first name (along with Yada and Nakamura). "Wanna go shopping with me and Touka-chan this afternoon?"

Kurahashi, knowing Hayami's coldness, prepared herself for another rejected idea.

Hayami hesitated. She hadn't been out with her classmates (friends?) before, but would this be a good start? She sneaked a look at Chiba and he nodded, just enough to be visible to her.

"Okay." Hayami agreed.

Kurahashi's eyes widened. "Ooh, nice! I'll see you after school!" and then the girl ran off to find Yada.

Chiba noticed a tiny satisfied grin on Hayami's face.

* * *

"This looks good on you! Try it out!" Yada put a dress in Hayami's hands.

Hayami thought Yada had a pretty good fashion sense, so she didn't argue.

Over the course of an hour, the girls went to different shops, tried different clothes out and occasionally bought something. Hayami found herself somewhat enjoying the time spent.

"This will go nicely with that dress you got in that other shop, Rinka-chan." Kurahashi said as she took a red top.

Hayami took it, slightly frowning. Of all colours it could be, it _had_ to be red. Not wanting anyone else to know about her colour, she took it without saying anything and tried it out. When she got out of the dressing room, both of her companions were nodding in approval.

"Red fits you." Yada remarked. "Combined with that black and white skirt, this gives off a mature look."

She looked at the changing mirror. Since she couldn't see pink, her skin was a yellowish colour, her lips colourless and obviously she couldn't see how the red top would match with her.

 _How ironic that the colour they thought would fit me was the colour I couldn't see,_ Hayami thought bitterly.

* * *

"So, Maehara, what's your colour?" Okajima asked the boy excitedly. They had just finished one of their perverted talks. Chiba sat behind Okajima but fortunately he could tune out their conversation.

"It's a secret!" Maehara replied cheekily.

Okajima narrowed his eyes. Everyone knew about Maehara's womanizing habits, so was Maehara searching everywhere for his soulmate?

"What's yours then?" Maehara challenged.

"Umm…" Okajima turned red.

"Black? Brown? Blue?" Maehara tossed colours out, grinning. "What else? Purple? Amber? Green?"

At the mention of the colour green Okajima turned even redder and averted his gaze.

"Hah!" Maehara pointed a finger at Okajima. "It's green!"

Behind them, Chiba tensed up. His colour was green too.

"...Yeah, it is…" After a few seconds of silence, Okajima admitted it. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" he asked suspiciously.

"My lips are locked!"

"Locked with a girl's lips, you mean." Okajima snarked.

"I'll give it to you that was a good one." Maehara said. He sighed. "I won't tell you my colour but I'll tell you I met my soulmate at a really young age but I can't remember who she is. That's why I have my habit of flirting with girls. I want to find her after all those years."

"You sound way too dramatic for a teenager." Okajima said. "But you'll find her, don't worry!"

Okajima himself met his match in kindergarten. He remembered he was in a playground with some other kids, but like Maehara, his memory of her was blurry. But what he could remember were those green eyes, wide and innocent.

Okajima peeked at Hayami's empty seat next to him. He had a crush on the girl, but he was so sure she would eventually end up with Chiba.

He knew she had green eyes, but there was obviously a difference between the innocent eyes he remembered and the cool look in Hayami's eyes. Maybe she changed a lot? He didn't know. But it was a wild fantasy to imagine Hayami Rinka as his soulmate.

Chiba was an observant boy, and he could see that Okajima liked Hayami. This wasn't a problem to him, but still Chiba felt slightly annoyed as Hayami was supposed to be _his_ soulmate, not Okajima's. He also disapproved of the perverted looks Okajima sent Hayami.

Okajima's colour was also green. This might lead to him believing he was meant for Hayami.

Chiba felt a sudden spike of anger and clenched his fist, then the anger disappeared. True, he and Hayami were soulmates but they were just friends who recently met. They weren't ready to go to the next step. It wasn't like they had a special, exclusive relationship.

He took a book out and the noise alerted Okajima and Maehara of his existence.

"Whoa dude, I nearly forgot you were there." Maehara said while Chiba just stared at him.

Okajima flushed. "You heard what I was talking about earlier, didn't you?"

The only indication Chiba gave was to slightly nod his head.

"Please don't tell anyone!" Okajima said frantically.

"Okay. I won't." Chiba answered simply.

Okajima looked openly relieved. "Thanks."

After that incident, Chiba found himself sticking closer to Hayami, as if to send a warning flag to keep other boys away. Hayami didn't seem to mind though.

* * *

"Today you two will try to shoot right after being underwater." Isogai said, holding a piece of paper. "Water is Koro-sensei's weakness so we might surround him with water on that island."

The snipers nodded. They had practiced non stop outside for two hours, only stopping for a water break. It was a fairly hot day so they were both glad to enter the swimming pool Koro-sensei built.

"Surface after three seconds, okay?" Kataoka said as she sat on the edge of the pool. "I'll be here in case anything happens."

 _Three._

 _Two._

 _One._

Chiba and Hayami plunged into the water together, the cool water meeting them. Bubbles rose to the surface as they held their breath.

Under the water was so peacefully silent. The light from above cast beautiful patterns on the rocky surface of the pool. Hayami could feel her hair floating up.

The girl looked at Chiba, who was right beside her. His bangs were floating up too. Hayami stared more closely and then she saw the biggest secret of her classmate.

His eyes.

And it wasn't just that. It was that colour - the colour _red_ , was it?

Hayami continued to stare. His red eyes was making her feel butterflies in her stomach, and she wasn't sure if they were the good kind or the bad kind. Her body fell limp and she began to sink.

They were just supposed to be under water for three seconds, but it felt so much longer.

Chiba noticed what was happening. Alarmed, he grabbed Hayami and swam furiously towards the surface.

At around the same time, Kataoka also saw something was wrong and dived in with a splash. Together they brought Hayami to the surface.

"Hayami! Are you okay?" Kataoka asked, panting a bit.

Hayami slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with the familiar scenery of the hill.

Only some parts of it were not so familiar after all.

She looked down and saw her skin with pinkish tones in it. Of course, being completely blind to the colour made her didn't know what her skin was supposed to look like.

 _Is that… someone calling me?_

"Hayami!" Chiba said, gently shaking her.

 _Someone's holding me,_ Hayami thought vaguely. Her confused eyes wandered over to where other people were sitting.

Nagisa was looking at where she was in concern while Karma was sipping strawberry milk like he always did.

 _Karma's hair is red,_ Hayami thought. The colour was so bold, standing out so much.

"Hayami!" Chiba said more anxiously, worry evident in his voice. Recognizing him, Hayami looked up dizzily and her green eyes met his red ones. In his hurry Chiba forgot to move his bangs to properly cover his eyes.

Red, red, red. It was everywhere.

 _Sensory overload. Sensory overload._

Hayami couldn't think. She could faintly hear people yelling for her, but then her vision became black and she faded away.

* * *

Hayami woke up under the shade of a tree. She brushed a strand of damp hair from her face and stopped.

 _Red, red, red._

"You're awake." A cool voice said. Hayami spun to see Bitch-sensei, sitting next to her with sunglasses and sipping a cold drink.

"Bitch-sensei." Hayami acknowledged.

"Chiba-kun carried you here in case you're interested."

Hayami flushed. "I wasn't." she found herself saying automatically.

Bitch-sensei ignored her. "Your colour's red, is it? Like your face right now." She tossed a pocket mirror at the girl. Hayami opened it and glared at her reflection with that… _colour_ on it.

"I can tell you your face shouldn't look like that. It's redder than normal. "

"How did you-" Hayami stopped herself. "Your colour's red too, isn't it Bitch-sensei?"

There was silence.

"Then Karasuma-sensei's eyes are red too." Hayami said, closing the mirror as she couldn't bear to see herself.

This got an immediate reaction from Bitch-sensei.

"Hey, brat, stop jumping to conclusions like that!" Bitch-sensei yelled, pissed off. She snatched the mirror back. "Although, Karasuma would be a challenge to seduce, I like challenges…"

Hayami stood up as Bitch-sensei got distracted by thinking up ways to seduce Karasuma. She walked to the school building and took her phone out from her bag. Then she went to the washroom and turned her phone on.

Hayami looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. She had photos of all colours she used to couldn't see in her phone and she opened it.

Eyes roaming over the screen, Hayami mentally read out the names of the colours. Yes, she could see them all.

The chattering of her classmates could be heard outside. They must be returning to the building for lunch break.

Switching off her phone screen, Hayami put it in her pocket and stepped outside, ready for the outside world.

* * *

Kataoka informed her she was out for fifteen minutes at the most. Which was good as she didn't miss a lot.

This also made other classmates worry because practicing in the summer heat had to be difficult and everyone knew about the snipers' overworking tendencies.

When Chiba asked if she was alright, Hayami answered with a short "I'm okay" and they didn't talk for the rest of the break.

Hayami also avoided looking at Chiba.

At first Chiba was confused. For the past few months he had carefully tried not to offend Hayami. Now something was off.

Then he realized they had been underwater the same time and she must have somehow seen his eyes and understood that they were meant to be.

Chiba decided he would give Hayami some space. After all that piece of information would need to take some time to digest.

Apparently Hayami's definition of "some time" was four hours.

After the practice session, everyone gradually went home. Chiba and Hayami stayed behind to help to clean up.

Finally, among the trees behind the hill, Hayami confronted Chiba.

"You knew." she said icily, turning to look at the boy briefly. "You knew all the time."

There was a short pause. "Yes, I knew." Chiba said, who was feeling an odd mix of dread and excitement.

Hayami didn't say anything, which prompted Chiba to elaborate.

"It was that day when Karma first came back to school. We were sitting under the same tree at lunch and I just… knew." he finished rather lamely.

"Was that why you tried to get close to me?" Hayami asked, still not looking at him.

"That was part of the reason why." Chiba said carefully. He could feel his palms getting sweaty. It felt like Hayami was interrogating him. "And we also work together often as snipers."

"I see." Hayami nodded slightly.

They had both heard people sharing the moment they found their soulmate. It was usually a very romantic, dramatic scene which resulted in a hug or even a kiss. Or at least some meaningful eye contact.

Now, they were just two middle school students, standing away from each other, neither one attempting to make conversation. Even if they talked it would sound like one of their usual conversations, short and to the point.

It was a bit awkward but they both swore it would be even more awkward if they suddenly became sappy, affectionate romantics.

Hayami hesitated, then asked softly,"Can I see your eyes?"

"Sure." Chiba knew Hayami was going to ask that question sooner or later. He expected it.

What he _didn't_ expect was, instead of him brushing his bangs away, it was _she_ who took a step forward and did that.

Chiba froze as they made eye contact. Hayami observed his eyes; they weren't as scary as he claimed them to be, they were sharp and a red colour. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach again and hastily let his bangs fall back.

"They're not bad." Hayami muttered. Chiba self consciously patted his bangs.

"So. What happens now?" Chiba asked.

"I don't know. What do you think?" Hayami replied.

"You're not supposed to answer a question with another question."

"Well… to be honest I don't know much about this kind of thing."

There was another silence. Then they began to talk at the same time.

"Ah. You first." Chiba offered.

Hayami wanted to refuse, but that would just make things unnecessarily complicated.

"...I was thinking of taking it at our own pace."

"Oh." Chiba noticed the slight blush on Hayami's cheeks. "I was thinking of the same thing."

"So, that's solved." Hayami said matter-of-factly. She was rather glad to be on the same waveline as her partner (they were always in sync anyway).

* * *

Hayami soon got used to the newly discovered colour. It was no longer surprising. But if there was something she in all honesty detested, it was blood. Being a girl made things worse, with those dreaded monthly visits.

After their failed assassination at the island, everyone sat on the chairs sullenly. The snipers were particularly bothered by the fact that they had failed.

Then suddenly some of the their classmates became sick. Hayami stared in horror as blood sprouted from Okajima's nose. Their sick classmates also had an odd flush on their cheeks.

 _Red. Red again._

Chiba found Hayami's hand and gripped it. She took a deep breath and he smiled reassuringly at her.

 _It's okay. I'm here. You don't have to be afraid._

Karasuma organized a mission to break in the hotel to get the antidote. The remaining classmates went to their rooms to change into clothing they can get dirty. Hayami loitered, looking around a bit nervously.

"Ryuu," she called softly to Chiba. He knew she only called him that when she was afraid or being serious. He slowed down to walk next to her.

Hayami moved closer to him, until their bodies were physically touching, which never happened when there were other people around.

She slowly raised a hand until she could brush Chiba's bangs away slightly, just enough to reveal his eyes for a second. Although a bit shocked, he let her, because he knew she didn't think his eyes were creepy.

It was ironic how Chiba thought his eyes were scary, but they were the same shade of red that reassured Hayami.

* * *

It was seven years after graduation.

Seven years after they killed Koro-sensei.

Seven years after they met each other.

Seven years after they knew.

But maybe all of that would vanish in a single second.

Hayami watched helplessly as a car suddenly swerved around the corner on the street. The loud honking. And the person, her soulmate, that was in the middle of the road, who realized it too late.

 _Too late._

She briefly heard someone screaming (was it her?), her fingers clumsily fumbling for her phone. The phone clattered to the ground, next to the pool of crimson blood slowly spreading out.

" _Ryuunosuke!_ "

(Maybe she would always have a grudge against blood.)

God knows how long later, Hayami knelt at her bathtub, scrubbing at the blood stains on her white skirt, no longer clean and pristine. She could see the sunlight from the bathroom window.

After a change of clothes, Hayami prepared to visit the hospital again, even though she had just returned to the apartment fifteen minutes ago. _Their_ apartment.

Hayami felt her heart clench, but she refused to let tears fall. Grabbing the keys, she strode out of the door.

* * *

The first thing Chiba registered was the systematic beeping. Which would mean he was in a hospital.

His mouth felt impossibly dry, and his skin and hair oily. _What happened?_

He remembered the car crash. Rinka's scream. And her green eyes, looking desperately at him.

He slowly opened his eyes to let them adjust to the light. The lighting was dim, so Chiba assumed it to be nighttime. Through the curtain of his bangs, he could see the faint silhouette of his bed, and of a person sitting next to him, probably asleep.

Chiba turned his neck, which proved to be a bit difficult. "Rinka," he whispered, his voice coming out as a nasty croak.

There was no reaction from her. She was slumped on the chair, peach coloured hair messy, which was unlike her.

"Rinka," he said again.

This time she stirred. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Chiba could see the dark circles beneath them. He felt a twinge of guilt when he realized he had caused it by worrying her.

"Ryuunosuke," she breathed and brushed away his bangs oh-so-gently, so they made eye contact. "You're awake."

They looked into each other's eyes (and souls, as they say the eyes are the windows to the souls), before Hayami finally pulled away. "I have to tell your family. They'll be overjoyed."

And indeed they were.

People he knew visited. Old classmates, his relatives, his colleagues. But his immediate family and Hayami visited the most often.

His bedside table was soon filled with get well cards and flowers. He particularly liked the fresh green leaves of the flowers.

Soon he was all recovered and alright, although Hayami never forgot the scare he brought her.

* * *

Ryuunosuke was walking around a jewelry store one day. His eyes caught a certain something, and he was immediately attracted to it.

He held back a smile. _She'll love it._

There will always be a reason that their engagement ring has a ruby and an emerald right next to each other.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay I saw this prompt on Tumblr via Pinterest and thought it would fit ChibaHaya… and it did.**

 **By the way we have reached 5000 views! Isn't that awesome? Thanks for your support! And also thanks for the favourites and follows!**

 **For next chapter we'll celebrate the Tsundere (Yandere?) Sniper's birthday. And don't forget to review! I'll love to know what you all think!**


	9. Happy Birthday, Hayami

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 ** **A/N: Also written for ChibaHaya Week 2018 Day 1- Birthday.****

* * *

Happy Birthday, Hayami 12/7

Hayami's birthday wasn't off to the greatest start.

 _Why did I wake up late?_ Hayami questioned herself as she hurriedly brushed her teeth. It was an extremely rare occurrence as she was very organized. She quickly changed and went out to the living room to have breakfast.

Hayami saw a piece of paper on the table and took it. It was a birthday note from her mother. She had gone out early.

 _Well,_ Hayami thought. _At least she remembered._ Her dad was even less present.

The class had just begun a rigorous training for assassination, so there were practices even on weekends.

Even though the weather was warm, an odd shiver ran through her spine. Ignoring it, Hayami put the dishes in the sink.

Her phone screen lit up. "Good morning, Hayami-san," Ritsu greeted her brightly. She was wearing a multi-coloured party dress with a birthday hat.

Hayami looked at Ritsu's clothes suspiciously before realizing it was because of her birthday. "Good morning, Ritsu."

"Happy birthday, Hayami-san."

"Thanks."

"Would you like me to sing the birthday song?"

There was a pause. "No," Hayami replied decisively.

"That's alright. By the way, you are meeting Chiba-san under the stairs in nine minutes, thirty nine seconds, thirty eight…"

Hayami pushed her chair away and stood up. She usually had exactly fifteen minutes to walk to school. What was wrong with her that day? She seemed so sluggish.

"Thank you Ritsu, I'll get going." Ritsu disappeared from the screen.

Hayami hurriedly grabbed her belongings and rushed out of the door. She strode briskly and managed to meet Chiba on time.

"Good morning," Chiba greeted once he saw her.

Hayami wanted to answer his greeting but she sneezed.

"You don't look that good." Chiba noticed. He remembered on the day before, they had sat in the rain for two hours, shooting. A lot of people had told them to rest, but the snipers thought they had to be prepared for any sort of weather, including heavy rain.

"You don't either," Hayami replied as she blew her nose.

"I didn't catch it as bad as you did though. Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you."

When the reached the campus (early as usual), they saw Karasuma and Isogai talking. When Isogai saw the snipers, he immediately marched over to them, an unusually grim expression on his face.

"You two are taking the day offm" Isogai decided firmly.

Chiba and Hayami shared a glance before Chiba spoke for both of them. "Why?"

Isogai gave them a rare glare. "You two have been working too hard. You need some rest, especially after sitting in the rain yesterday."

Before the snipers could object, Karasuma walked over and said, "I was notified of the situation by Isogai-kun. As your teacher, I recommend some rest."

They all knew when Karasuma recommended something, he meant they had to do something.

"We have to do our best to be useful assassins," Chiba said.

"You two won't be any use in the assassination if you got sick from overworking," Karasuma replied.

As if on cue, the snipers both sneezed in unison. The look on Isogai and Karasuma's face downright said "see, I told you".

"Rest for a day. If you refuse, I'll forbid you from practicing for a whole week." Karasuma's word was final and he walked away.

Chiba and Hayami shared a glance and then walked down the stairs silently.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Chiba asked his partner.

"Not really." Hayami checked the time. It was 10:34. "It's still pretty early."

"Maybe we should take Isogai's advice and go home to rest," Chiba suggested.

Hayami hated to admit but she could feel goosebumps on her skin even though they were under the glaring sun. Suddenly, she remembered something and began to rummage through her bag.

"Just as I thought," Hayami muttered after a fruitless search. "I forgot my keys."

"Maybe you have someone at home?"

"My mother won't be home until night. My father's rarely home and I have no siblings." Hayami sighed, mad at herself. She had been keeping a key for almost a decade, why did she have to slip up now?

It was the first time that Chiba had ever heard of Hayami's family situation. He couldn't really relate as he had three sisters. There was almost always at least one person at home.

"Well, you have almost half a day to spend outdoors," Chiba mused. "That's a pretty long time."

"I can go to the library. And probably walk around. What are you doing anyway?"

"I was thinking of returning home, but now I might as well give you some company."

It was a bit strange coming from him, since Chiba and Hayami were known to be one of the most isolated people in Class E. But Hayami knew she couldn't reject him: it would be weird and too cold.

"Don't you have things to do?" Hayami looked at her friend briefly.

"I have nothing to do since I cleared out this time slot for training," Chiba replied.

They went for a walk in the park, but there were only so many times they could walk around the same place in silence. Besides, it was nearing noon, so it was starting to get hotter.

"Want to do lunch?" Chiba offered.

Seeing they were out of options, Hayami nodded. Since they were both a bit sick, their appetite had decreased, but they knew they had to eat something.

Then suddenly, Chiba realized something. They hadn't been out with each other before, and now he had just suggested to have lunch… which somehow resembled a date? Even though his intentions were nothing like that?

Chiba pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, and tried to focus on the present.

He and Hayami sat on the opposite of each other, so they were face to face. The air conditioner in the restaurant was quite strong, which Chiba would have appreciated if it was any other day, but today he was sick and the cool wind did not make it any better.

As Hayami ate, she could feel a steady throbbing in her head. She tried to ignore it, but it gradually got stronger and stronger, until it felt like someone was hammering her head.

There was a sudden beep from her phone. Hayami turned on the screen to reveal Ritsu.

"Hello, Hayami-san. Isogai-san wanted to check up on you to make sure you and Chiba-san are not secretly practicing."

Hayami sighed internally. Like the caring class leader he was, Isogai would make sure they would get sufficient rest. She spooned some food in her mouth.

"I'm eating. And so is Chiba."

"Thank you for the information. I hope you have a speedy recovery." Then Ritsu vanished.

As they ate, both Chiba and Hayami were consciously aware that this was their longest time they spent together that didn't involve work. Everyone thought whenever the sniper combo got together, they would just train, but maybe, maybe they could do other things when they were too sick to work?

There was an awkward silence between them. Neither knew what to say and neither wanted to take the initiative.

Chiba looked up briefly and to his alarm, he saw the exhausted Hayami almost falling asleep on the table.

"You can stay at my place for a few hours if you want," Chiba found himself suggesting before he could think. He immediately regretted his offer for two reasons. One, he had never brought anyone home in his whole fifteen years of life, so his parents and sisters would think it was strange. Two, there was absolutely no reason for this impromptu appointment to be more like a date. And somehow Chiba didn't think he and Hayami were close enough to go to each other's home.

Hayami's head shot up so quickly he was surprised. "No," she answered bluntly and went back to eating.

Hayami had been taking care of herself ever since she was a kid, since her parents were not the most attentive. Maybe that was why she refused help from others. Hayami was mad because she had failed to take good care of herself, and she was determined to heal on her own.

 _She's too stubborn._ Chiba thought. _She thinks she can deal with everything on her own._ Actually, he knew he wasn't much different, but somehow his concern for Hayami was larger than his concern for himself.

After they had paid for the meal and went outside, Chiba tried again to convince Hayami to stay at his home.

"No," Hayami replied fiercely as she rubbed her arms. "I'm fine, and I don't want to bother you." She tried to walk away from Chiba, despite not knowing where she should go.

Hayami was never one to think that everything should go smoothly because it was her birthday. It was just any other day to her, except being a year older.

She was beginning to feel sleepy so she stood against the wall. Chiba followed and stood next to her.

"It's no big deal to me. And if you're sick, you shouldn't be ashamed of resting."

 _Say that to yourself,_ a voice in Chiba's head said. He realized he was giving advice to himself. To be honest, he was only out there because of Hayami.

"I'm not sick," Hayami muttered feebly but she wasn't fooling anyone, including herself. She drank some water in hopes of relieving the pain from her headache, but it didn't work.

"Well, you're sick too." Hayami said to Chiba, turning the tables. "So _you_ should go back home."

"And leave you out here in the heat and the coldness of air conditioned shops? You'll just get sicker."

"And so will you." Hayami mumbled. She knew they were having one of those childish arguments, but honestly, at that moment, she could've cared less.

Chiba knew he had a trump card, and was about to use it when he saw a familiar figure turn the corner.

"...Mom?"

* * *

Hayami lost track of how many times she had apologized for bothering the Chiba household.

"It's okay," both Chiba and his mom assured her.

Hayami didn't think it was okay. She had a feeling that it had been a long time since Chiba brought anyone home and she didn't want to be the exception.

It was one thing to refuse a friend's offer, but another to refuse a friend's parent's offer. Hayami had no idea how to push it off.

So that was why she ended up there.

Awkward.

Chiba could sense that his mother was being a lot more cautious around Hayami. She probably didn't want to scare away what she thought was the only friend he had.

The tension was almost too much for Hayami to bear. Suddenly thankful that she was sick and therefore tired, Hayami curled up on the couch and fell fast asleep.

"I'm glad to see you have friends," his mother mentioned after a brief silence. A gentle smile formed on her face.

Chiba remembered the old days when he was bullied for his eyes and was really unhappy. He had talked about it with his parents, but nothing seemed to change. He finally decided to grow out his bangs, and he isolated himself from others. Chiba knew he must have caused a lot of worry for his family because he was so distant.

There was a pitter patter of footsteps and a girl of around ten appeared. She looked curiously at Hayami, then at Chiba.

Seeing the confused look on his sister's face, Chiba explained, "She's my friend. She needs some rest and she can't get home so she's staying here for a while."

The girl widened her amber eyes. "Oniichan has a _friend_? This is as surprising as the moon exploding!" Her voice got louder and louder as she got more agitated.

"Fumiko," Chiba reminded when he saw Hayami began to stir.

"Whoops. Sorry." Fumiko looked apologetically at the sleeping Hayami. She ran into a room, her ponytail flying, and Chiba could hear her exclaim, "Mi-chan! Come out! Something big has happened!"

Chiba's youngest sister, Minori, or Mi-chan as her family called her, came out, a fluffy grey cat in her arms. The five year old girl had her hair in pigtails, which swung from side to side as she followed her older sister.

"Oniichan has a friend! Oniichan has a friend!" Fumiko whispered excitedly.

"Oniichan has a friend!" Minori followed cheerfully. She had a tendency to copy what her older siblings said.

"Okay okay," Chiba held open his arms. "Calm down. It's not that big of a deal." He felt a shiver down his spine, and remembered that he was sick too, so he retreated into his room and slept for a while.

* * *

"Oniichan's friend is pretty!"

"Shh Mi-chan, we can't scare her away."

"But she's really pretty! What if she's oniichan's girlfriend!"

Fumiko chuckled. "Well, we mustn't think too far on that."

"Mmm…" Hayami rolled over when the whispers of the two sisters woke her up. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes only to find herself in an unfamiliar location. Her sleepy green eyes travelled to where the voices came from.

A big smile broke on Minori's face. "Your eyes are pretty!" she complimented Hayami.

Hayami blinked when she realized she was at Chiba's place, and these two were his sisters. "Um. Thanks." Hayami replied, looking at them a bit oddly.

"You weirded her out!" Fumiko scolded Minori, trying to be discreet but failing.

"Sorry." Minori apologized, giving Fumiko the puppy eyes look. Fumiko sighed before turning to Hayami. "Can I call you oneechan?"

Hayami did not know how to react. In fact, the longer she was awake, the more she took in her surroundings and the more awkward she felt. "Uh... sure, if you like. My name is Hayami Rinka."

"I'm Fumiko and this my younger sister Minori," Fumiko introduced herself. Clearly she was the bolder one of the two sisters, and Minori was distracted by the family cat. "Thank you for being friends with my idiot of a brother because he is very antisocial."

Hayami nodded, but her attention was focused on the cat. She thought if she was there, she might as well attempt some conversation.

"That's a cute kitty."

"His name is Snuffles," Minori held up the big cat proudly. "Rin-neechan, do you want to pet him?" Hayami hesitantly reached out a hand and petted his head. The cat purred and Hayami felt her heart melt. She liked kittens more but cats were also one of her favourites.

"She named him when we found it on the street a couple years ago," Fumiko explained. "Mi-chan saw that name from a storybook she read."

"A fellow cat lover, I see." Hayami knelt down and petted Snuffles' head again. A rare smile spread across her face. "Aren't you cute," she cooed and scratched his chin. The cat leapt from Minori's arms to Hayami's arms, and Hayami stroked his fur happily.

Hayami was already lost in the cute fluffy world of kittens when she remembered that she was acting in a very embarrassing way. In her classmate's house. Her cheeks flushed when she wondered what would happen if Nakamura or Karma got a picture of her cuddling cats. Or worse, what if Chiba caught her. His respect for her will disappear surely after seeing her at the mercy of felines.

"Ah, you're awake."

 _Speak of the devil._

Chiba had been observing Hayami cuddling the cat, secretly thinking that this side of Hayami was undeniably cute. If his mom hadn't seen him and Hayami on the streets, Chiba would have used the cat as bait to tempt Hayami. That was his ultimate trump card.

He felt bad for staring at Hayami, though. But there was something irresistible about her endearing expression that made him feel all warm and fluttery.

Hayami's face turned red when she saw the slight smirk on her friend's face. She tried to put the cat down, but it seemed to be attracted to her too, and clung onto the girl.

"Here's some medicine," he tossed a pill box at her. Hayami managed to catch it while trying to get Snuffles off her leg. "Thanks."

Meanwhile, Fumiko and Minori were eagerly watching the interaction between Chiba and Hayami. As if they sensed their stares, Chiba and Hayami spun to look at them in unison before turning away.

"Their stares are in sync." Fumiko gasped. "They must be really close friends."

"Really close friends!" Minori repeated.

Chiba sat on the couch next to Hayami (but not too close). "You feeling better?" he asked.

"A bit," Hayami replied, trying to pry the cat away. She thought if the cat didn't leave her soon, she would lose control and mindlessly cuddle it, therefore acting like a total idiot.

"See, some rest does the trick."

Hayami's face flushed. "Don't act so smug. You are sick too."

"It seems that you're not the only one who left something at home," Chiba said as he took something out and gave it to Hayami. "Happy birthday, Hayami."

Hayami looked at the cat keychain in her palm. On the keychain was a small kitty plushie. It wasn't too big, and Hayami felt like it could hang comfortably on her bag. Hayami squeezed the plushie, enjoying the way it felt. "It's cute. Thank you, Chiba."

"You're welcome."

"So, it's oneechan's birthday? Happy birthday!" Fumiko said to Hayami.

"Happy birthday!" Minori followed, a wide smile on her face.

"Thanks." Hayami continued to play with the keychain, but then looked up suddenly. "Chiba, how do you know that I like cats?" she asked, her eyes piercing through him.

Chiba felt cold sweat form on his forehead. The glare from Hayami was scary, unlike the cute Hayami he had seen earlier. "Umm… one day I saw you at the pet shop…"

Hayami remembered that sometimes she would go to the pet shop after school, and cuddle some kittens. It was one of her most guarded secrets, one that she would die of embarrassment if it got out. "That… wasn't… me…" she muttered feebly.

Chiba raised an eyebrow (which no one saw). She was clearly bluffing. "Ah yes, because the peach haired pigtailed girl wearing the Kunigigaoka uniform wasn't you, my bad."

Hayami knew he was teasing her, and that infuriated her even more. And when did their relationship become, well, less work-like? Maybe Chiba was more comfy in his home. She scowled darkly. "If this ever gets out I'll kill you."

One couldn't underestimate the threat when one was in the assassination classroom. "Okay, I get it." Chiba raised his arms in surrender.

Hayami ran her fingers through Snuffles' fur. She smiled when he purred.

"You know what…" Chiba trailed off.

"What?" Hayami asked.

"We were told to rest, and we did that already… so technically we can do some work now?"

"Oh." Hayami looked at the cat in her lap. Half of her wanted to play with the cat, and half of her wanted to do something productive. "What do you want to do?"

"I can help you with maths," Chiba offered.

Hayami blinked and remembered that the boy was talented at math. "Okay, let's do it."

* * *

"Class dismissed," Karasuma announced, and everyone began to pack their things.

"My muscles hurt," Maehara groaned. They had scaled the hill today under Karasuma's orders. "But a date with a pretty girl will ease the pain!"

"You stink. No one will want to be with you," Okano remarked flatly and walked away.

"Now now Okano," Maehara winced a bit at her remark.

"Maehara, let's go. Do you wanna get some ice cream?" Isogai suggested.

"You bet! I'm sweating buckets now!"

As they walked into the streets, Isogai was distracted by a poster about a discount at a supermarket. A bored Maehara observed his surroundings, and saw a pretty girl nearby. Her raven black hair was down to her waist, which swayed with her every move. There was a wine red cello case on her back.

Excited, Maehara went to her, but before he could even say a word, the girl turned around and glared at him.

"If you're going to ask me out, then no," the girl said directly.

"I-I wasn't going to-"

"Besides, you're just a middle schooler," the girl cut in.

On closer inspection, Maehara realized the girl _was_ older than him, and was a high school student. He turned red with embarrassment.

Isogai pulled Maehara away. "I told you to stop flirting with girls," he muttered. Then he turned to the girl. "I apologize for the inconvenience caused by my friend."

The girl looked at him in appreciation. Maehara was ticked off that the girl liked Isogai more than him.

"Better teach your friend some manners," the girl said and walked away. "And find someone in his league."

Maehara was speechless. After a few seconds, he finally stuttered out, "Let's get that ice cream."

The girl that Maehara flirted with sighed and opened the door to where she lived.

"Welcome back Shiho-nee!" Fumiko said brightly.

The girl stepped in, put her cello down, and immediately noticed two new things.

One, there was a new girl.

Two, her brother was teaching said new girl maths.

The girl rubbed at her forehead and wondered if she was having a hallucination. She blinked. The new girl blinked back, neither of them knowing what to do.

Now Hayami had seen all three of his sisters, she wondered what Chiba's eyes looked like. The elder sister and Minori had bright blue eyes, while Fumiko's eyes were amber coloured.

Chiba looked up, and saw his older sister Shiho and Hayami staring at each other with confused expressions. After quick, hasty introductions, their mom asked them to get some groceries.

"They have a major discount at this time," she said.

"I'll go," Shiho said immediately. In some ways, she was very like her brother and Hayami, quiet and serious.

"I'll go with you," Chiba offered. He turned to Hayami. "Are you okay here on your own?"

"Yep." Hayami stroked the cat in her arms. "I'll be fine." She giggled softly as Snuffles purred, and suddenly Chiba was sure if a cat was present, Hayami would be very much fine.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maehara and Isogai were sitting on a bench, five feet apart and eating ice cream.

"Eh, isn't that Chiba?" Maehara asked after he took a huge lick of his ice cream. Chiba was with Shiho, and they were exchanging short sentences, their preferred way of communicating. "A-and that girl?"

Isogai narrowed his eyes. "I told him and Hayami to rest." When Chiba came closer, Isogai asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," Chiba replied.

Shiho nudged Chiba. "And there's the boy I was telling you about."

Chiba gave Maehara a deadpan look, which wasn't noticeable because his eyes were covered. That womanizer would never change his ways.

"Hey Chiba, you know that girl?" Maehara asked, curious. He was also feeling irked because it wasn't often when Chiba knew a girl that he didn't know.

Chiba glared at him. "She's my sister."

"Oh." Maehara abruptly shut his mouth and just stared.

"Ohh," Isogai said, a way too innocent expression on his face. Everyone could see Isogai was purposely teasing Maehara. Maehara, however, was reminded that Chiba was one of the best snipers in their class and gulped, fear creeping upon him.

"If you hit on my sister, maybe she'll hit you back. And if she doesn't, _I_ will."

The two boys watched as the Chiba siblings walked away. Maehara's ice cream began to drip, but he paid no notice.

"Hopefully _that_ teaches you a lesson," Isogai commented. "But anyways, Maehara, you really need to break your habit of always flirting with people. No one will want to be with you."

* * *

"S-stay for dinner? Thank you, but I can eat outside."

Chiba's mom looked immensely disappointed. Hayami immediately regretted her words.

 _She looks so excited and happy that Chiba brought someone home._

"I won't mind cooking for an extra person, though."

"Ah… then I'll stay for dinner. I hope I won't cause much trouble for you."

"Oh no, you won't."

Hayami sighed. One thing had just snowballed into another.

 _Great… how I do survive meeting his third sister… and his dad._

At that precise moment, Shiho and Chiba stepped in. The siblings announced their presence, then put the groceries on the kitchen counter. Hayami fidgeted nervously. Dealing with the younger sisters were comparatively easy, but the elder sister intimidated Hayami. Shiho looked like she could kill people with a mere glare.

Chiba awkwardly sat beside her and looked at the textbooks in front of them. Fumiko and Minori peered at the pages curiously, and Chiba felt like he was attracting too much attention.

"Umm, maybe Hayami and I should study in my room-"

"I would rather you stay here," Shiho cut in curtly. Her voice was quiet but authoritative, and Hayami had the feeling Shiho had command over all of her siblings. Shiho gave Hayami a significant look and then went away.

 _What does she think we'll do in my room?!_ Chiba screamed internally. _She doesn't think that we'll… that we'll…_ Chiba's cheeks grew warm and he didn't want to imagine what his sister had in mind. It was too weird.

Meanwhile, Hayami was worried that Shiho didn't like her. So far, Chiba's family had given her a warm welcome, but Shiho was just… civil. Polite but aloof.

With the cat on her lap, Hayami listened to Chiba's teachings. He certainly was no Korosensei but Hayami felt comfortable working with him. With his weird octopus analogies, learning with Korosensei could be a bit exasperating at times.

After studying math for a while, Hayami offered, "I can tutor you on Social Studies in return." It was basically their way of working. They would use their strengths to help each other, no matter in assassination or in studying.

"Alright. I'll get my text books." Chiba stood up and disappeared in his room. Coincidentally (or not), Shiho reappeared, and sat on the couch. Hayami froze and tried to act normal, ignoring the loud thumping of her heart.

"So, Hayami-san, is it?" Shiho asked, breaking the ice. "You study at my brother's school, right?"

"Yes, we're also in the same class."

"So, Hayami-san," Shiho leaned forward, and Hayami suddenly felt like she was being interrogated. "What do you do for fun?"

Hayami's heart skipped a beat. "I like to dance."

"Oh?" One of Shiho's eyebrow raised slightly. "Which kind?"

"Jazz dance."

"Ah, I take it that you like jazz music too."

Hayami nodded mutely.

"Do you like classical music?" Shiho asked in a hushed tone. Hayami took it as a sign of Shiho being closer to her.

"Yes. I'm particularly fond of the violin and the piano."

A smile broke out on Shiho's face, and Hayami internally sighed with relief. "That's great! I play the cello."

Hayami shot a look at the cello case lying against the wall. "That's really cool."

"Do you happen to have a thing for heavy metal, punk, genres like that?"

Hayami's smile faded slightly. "I'm not really into that." If Shiho's music taste was like that, Hayami was afraid they might not get along.

"Ryu!" Shiho called in the direction of Chiba's room. "Even your friend over here dislikes Japanese punk!"

An irritated Chiba poked his head out. "Shiho-nee, please stop corrupting Hayami!"

"She's also fond of classical music," Shiho continued with a slightly smug tone.

Chiba glared daggers at his sister. "Not only did you corrupt her, you also brainwashed her!"

 _So they have conflicting tastes in music,_ Hayami sweatdropped.

The only good thing that came out of the mini fight was that Shiho seemed to have deemed Hayami as worthy of her and her brother's friendship, and behaved less cold around her.

The two continued to study until Hayami decided she wanted a bathroom break. When she came back out, Chiba's mom was making a phone call.

"...Ryu has a friend! It's her birthday… _yes_ she's a girl… so be a darling and buy a cake when you go home from work!"

Hayami was rendered speechless. The look on Chiba's face told her that he had unsuccessfully tried to stop his mom. Minori was looking pleased at herself; evidently she was the one who had told her mom about Hayami's birthday.

"... I don't think this is necessary…" Hayami said once the phone call had finished.

"Nonsense! If you're eating here, and it's your birthday, we have to celebrate by eating a cake!"

Shiho and Chiba noted that this was the most excited look they had ever seen on their mother. She hummed cheerfully as she went to the kitchen to cook.

Chiba and Hayami decided to take a break from studying and they played with Snuffles. The sisters joined in, and soon there were five people fussing over the cat.

Even with this amount of people, oddly enough, Hayami wasn't very uncomfortable. In fact, she quite liked seeing the interactions between Chiba and his sisters. Besides, there was a cat.

Fumiko cemented Chiba's favourite music genre as "emo" and Minori joined in chanting "emo emo emo" even though she had no idea what it meant. Chiba crossly defended himself, while Shiho just made dry, sarcastic comments.

Hayami had only seen the side of Chiba when he was at school. Sometimes she forgot that he had a side he only showed to his family.

Hayami thought about herself. Her family wasn't the best; her mom was always working, she didn't usually see her dad, and she had no siblings, no pets. She often came home to an empty house. But Hayami didn't complain. She didn't long for a complete family because she was okay with what she had. She should be grateful for what she had. It wasn't like she could change that. It was the way it was.

(But Hayami felt like her own class and its teachers were a good enough family for her. She wouldn't say it out loud though, due to her being reminded of Takaoka every time she thought of her class as a family.)

She watched Fumiko and Chiba engage in a mock fight. Both of them were laughing as they tried weakly to thump their fists on the other. It was surprising how Chiba opened up in his home. Hayami wondered if she would do the same if she had a family like his too.

It was no secret that she and Chiba were similar. Both of them were quiet, serious and hardworking, but Chiba had a noisy, happy family supporting him from behind. Compared to him, Hayami suddenly felt so lonely when she was in her house. Hayami mentally scolded herself for thinking like that, but now that she'd been exposed to Chiba's family, she _did_ feel a bit wishful…

Hayami didn't mind being alone. She didn't mind the silence in her room. She didn't mind that she couldn't see both of her parents every day.

But Hayami thought a bit of liveliness, and a bit of laughter, would do her good too.

* * *

Chiba's father may look like a stern man, but nobody could miss that soft smile he had on his face when Minori greeted him. He put a cake box on the table and exchanged a few polite words with Hayami. Hayami had wanted to set the table but Chiba's mother insisted she do nothing. So Hayami was tasked to feed Snuffles.

During dinner, Hayami sat between Shiho and Chiba. She lowered her head and ate quietly, not wanting to draw attention. But Hayami wasn't rude, so she also praised the dishes accordingly. Chiba's mother blushed with delight.

The conversation somehow turned to asking Hayami about how Chiba did at school. Chiba felt he was at fault because he didn't talk much about his school experiences.

"How is my son at school? Is he doing okay?"

 _Please stop talking about me as if I'm not here,_ Chiba thought, but he didn't say it out loud.

"Yes, he's doing well."

"Other than you, does he have any other friends?" Fumiko butted in.

Hayami and Chiba shared a glance. "I suppose he does," Hayami replied.

"Does he have other _female_ friends?" Fumiko asked, eyes wide with curiosity and mischief.

"Fumiko, don't ask tactless questions like that!" Shiho scolded. But then Shiho leaned down and whispered in Fumiko's ear, "We mustn't try to escalate their relationship...". Hayami shifted awkwardly, knowing the implications of what Shiho had said.

"What do oniichan and Rin-neechan do at school?" Minori waved her little arms excitedly.

 _Think of something not related to assassinations,_ Hayami drilled herself. "Umm… we learn how to cook and sew," Hayami said, hoping this topic would interest Minori.

"I luff eatin'!" Fumiko cried with her mouth full. Noticing the disapproving looks from her elders, she swallowed then said, "I remember that one time where oniichan brought cookies back! They taste real good!"

"We also made soup and pudding once." Chiba recalled how Kayano had completely dominated that period. He poked Minori's plate with one of his chopsticks. "Hey, Mi-chan, you have to eat your vegetables."

Minori made a face. "But I don't want to!" she exclaimed childishly, a cute frown on her chubby face.

"Broccoli-san will be very unhappy if you ignore him," Chiba said, and Hayami blinked, surprised by the softer, cuter tone in Chiba's voice. And when did he do "baby talk"?

"I- I dun wanna upset anyone," Minori stated plainly. She stared at her plate. "Alright, broccoli-san!" She picked up the vegetable and placed it in her mouth, making a face as she ate it.

Chiba smiled. "Good girl." He reached over the table and ruffled his little sister's hair.

"Momma!" Minori gabbered, tugging on her mother's clothes eagerly. "Oniichan said I am a good girl! Can I have ice cream tonight?"

"Sweetheart, we already have cake for dessert," her mother told her, albeit in an affectionate way. "Maybe for another night?"

"I want to eat cake!" Minori proclaimed, jumping up and down in her seat. "Cake! Cake!"

"Finish eating your meal first," Chiba's dad spoke, but he was clearly amused by his daughter's antics.

There was a brief silence, the only sound being Fumiko's loud munching, which attracted quite a few stares, but Fumiko never seemed to have noticed.

"So," Hayami coughed deliberately. "Broccoli-san, huh?"

Chiba's face flushed an unflattering shade of red. "How else am I supposed to speak to a five year old?"

"Strawberry-san," Hayami continued, enjoying how Chiba looked so flustered. She was secretly happy about how she was part of the reason why he was so agitated. He was so different from what he seemed on the surface. "Egg-san. Fish-san."

"It isn't funny," Chiba tried to protest, while his siblings and parents smothered their giggles.

"Carrot-san. Potato-san. Apple-san," Hayami showed a rare grin. Oh, how she liked to tease Chiba. "Banana-san. Peach-san."

Despite being jokingly mocked, Chiba found this side of Hayami rather endearing. Her tone was less aloof and stiff, letting the playful part of her show through her lilting and more childish voice. _Hmm, maybe she's also affected by this home's atmosphere._

He knew how Hayami was an introvert, like him. But strangely enough, she seemed comfortable here.

 _Maybe it's just because of Snuffles,_ he told himself.

But deep inside, he knew it was more than that.

* * *

" _Happy birthday to you~"_

Hayami was embarrassed yet flattered by their care. They had just known her for a few hours but she had basically been assimilated into their family. And now there she was, sitting on a chair in a darkened room, as everyone sang the birthday song in a circle around her. Hayami couldn't remember the last time her birthday had been celebrated by a proper cake and song, and although she didn't say it, her heart was brimming with gratefulness. In fact, she was so happy it almost hurt, because she hadn't felt like this for a long, long time.

At the end of the song, they all clapped and cheered, and told Hayami to make a birthday wish.

 _A birthday wish… that's kind of childish…_

Hayami laughed and she decided she would let herself indulge just this once. She closed her eyes, and wished that the world could be saved. She blew out the candle among the whoops of her companions.

 _This birthday is different… but a good sort of different..._

Time flied by and soon it was time for Hayami to leave. Surprisingly enough, Minori became very attached to her, to the point that she started to cry and wail when Hayami prepared to leave.

"Will Rin-neechan come back?" Minori's eyes were huge and watery.

Hayami felt a pang in her heart. "Sure, we'll see each other again."

"I want Rin-neechan to be my sister!" Minori bawled and hugged Hayami's leg tightly.

"She can't be your sister; we have different family names," Fumiko explained, her hands on her hips.

Fumiko's words seemed to have inspired an idea, because Minori stopped crying and looked up hopefully at Hayami. "Rin-neechan! Can you promise me something?"

"Of course. Anything."

Minori's smile grew bigger and her eyes practically shone with delight. "C-can you marry oniichan when you grow up?"

At the moment, everything screeched to a halt.

"Whoops," Fumiko cackled, looking upon the scene with interest and anticipation. Shiho and her dad remained as poker-faced as ever, while her mom's hand flew to her mouth. Chiba's jaw had dropped and his face burned with embarrassment.

"Huh?!" Hayami gaped at the child.

"It's 'cause if you marry oniichan, we will all have the same surname! You can be my sister!" Minori pronounced innocently. "We can be a big family!"

Hayami felt her soul spiraling in the depths of hell. Her cheeks steadily began to grow warmer. "Uh, umm…"

Minori's face began to drop, the corners of her little lips turning down. "Rin-neechan… doesn't want to be my big sis?"

"D-don't cry!" Hayami replied hastily, her mind a tornado of thoughts. She didn't want to make Minori cry, but she also didn't want to agree to marry Chiba. Well, not _yet._

Hayami's heartbeat accelerated. Did she just think that she would be okay with marrying Chiba in the future? What was wrong with her? Logically speaking, Chiba would make a good husband. He would do chores and he was also good with children. Plus, he was responsible and respectful, two qualities Hayami admired.

Well, logically speaking, Hayami was still a teenager. Chiba was still a teenager. They were just friends. Hayami had completely _no_ reason to be venturing in this very dangerous territory.

Due to Hayami's lack of response, Minori became on the verge of tears again. For once in her life, Hayami acted before thinking.

"Alright! I'll marry your oniichan if you want!" Hayami rushed over her words because she could actually process them. Once they left her mouth, Hayami immediately regretted it. She had just somehow proposed to Chiba. To satisfy a five year old. With all of his close family members as witnesses. But she couldn't exactly take it back because Minori would burst into tears again.

Minori's face lit up like the sun. "Yay! I love Rin-neechan!"

"Yeah yeah…" Hayami muttered, desperately trying to not meet anyone's eyes. She grabbed her bag and shuffled to the door. "Well, I'll be leaving."

"Wait!" Chiba's mom cried, and Hayami winced, not wanting to have anything to do with the Chibas at the moment. "It's unsafe for you to be outside alone at this hour! Ryuunosuke, go walk her home!"

"H-hah?" Chiba stammered, clearly shocked by the notion and the consequences walking Hayami home could lead to. "I'm sure Hayami will be fine." And he was very sure she will be. Hayami underwent regular training, and besides, if anything threatening happened, Korosensei would help her.

Chiba's mom, who knew nothing about training or weird octopus teachers, did not take that as an answer. After Hayami properly said goodbye to the Chibas (which took eight minutes), Chiba escorted Hayami out of the house.

"Remember to invite me to the wedding!" Fumiko reminded them loudly as she waved.

"Wedding!" Minori repeated enthusiastically.

Shiho shot them a cool glare. "Fumiko, Minori, that's quite enough." Shiho looked apologetically at Hayami. "Sorry for that."

"I-it's fine," Hayami muttered, still mortified.

To prevent further humiliation, Chiba quietly grabbed Hayami's arm and pulled her away from the threshold. The duo walked away, using their rapid footsteps to hide the feelings they had. There was a noticeable distance between them. It was enough to distinguish them from strangers to acquaintances, but that was it.

But soon, the silence became too awkward to bear. The tension was almost crushing them.

"I like your family," Hayami said shortly, still refusing to make eye contact with Chiba. "They're diverse."

"They're a bit noisy but they're good," Chiba muttered. "I really am very sorry for their behavior just now. They're usually not so… excited."

"It's okay. I understand."

Hayami fidgeted with her clothes. "Also, uh, you can forget what I said just now. The," she blushed and stared at her shoes. "Wedding part."

"Ah," Chiba tugged his beanie down. His reflex action to protect himself was to make sure his eyes were hidden. "Let's pretend… that, ah, never happened."

"I hope they all forget about it."

"My parents and Shiho-nee know how to discreet, but for Mi-chan, I hope she eventually forgets it. I feel like the main problem is Fumiko. I bet she'll keep on teasing me about it for the rest of my life."

"I'm sorry," Hayami continued to stare at her shoes. They were oh-so-interesting at the moment.

"It's fine. You were put in a hard place." Chiba trained his eyes at a moth hovering around a street light.

"I hope you aren't offended," Hayami began to speak quickly. "You're a good guy and I'm sure you can find someone in your life if you want to and you have a way with kids and you're hardworking but now the time is just not right so I hope you don't take any offence," Hayami rambled in one go. Chiba had a hard time catching all the words.

"Pardon?" Chiba tilted his head, slightly confused.

"I'm not repeating," Hayami almost snapped back.

There was a pregnant silence.

"I'm not actually good with kids," Chiba professed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Fumiko and Mi-chan used to cry when they saw my eyes."

"Oh…" Hayami knew Chiba's big insecurity around his eyes, and her heart hurt for him. "But that's not your fault. They still love you."

"...Thanks for that."

The road seemed much longer than usual, but the weight on their shoulders was relieved. Chiba was starting to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere when Hayami spoke.

"Knife-san. Rifle-san. Scope-san." A hint of a smile appeared on Hayami's face, making her seem more like a middle-school student than usual.

Chiba sighed. He was a bit annoyed by Hayami's constant teasing, but at the same time, he liked seeing this lively side of Hayami. "You're never going to let it go."

"No, I'm not." To Chiba's surprise, a little giggle escaped Hayami's lips.

He stared at her.

She stared at him.

Hayami immediately snapped back to aloof mode. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Chiba hummed leisurely.

"Huh," Hayami glowered at him, her eyes filled with the bloodlust of an assassin.

"Alright! I like seeing you so playful!" Chiba admitted, hoping Hayami wouldn't whip her gun out.

"You mean childish."

"Well, I do think it's healthy to be like a kid every now and then," a new voice interrupted them. Chiba slid a pistol out from his pants pocket and Hayami did the same, duo guns pointing at a street lantern.

"Come out, you spying octopus!" Hayami ordered.

Korosensei slithered out from behind the lantern, his face pink and blissful. "Ah, two youthful hearts walking together at night~~ How romantic~~"

"Excuse me!" Chiba exclaimed and opened fire, the pink bullets zooming towards the stalker. Hayami followed suit, nimble fingers pressing the trigger. She knew she wouldn't hit Korosensei, but she was just purely annoyed.

"Chiba-kun, Hayami-san, I am very happy that you take your studies and assassination seriously. But you two are middle-schoolers, no matter you like it or not." Korosensei's pink face was replaced by his normal yellow one as he turned to teach them. "It's okay to have a bit of fun. Why, one day you might look back and regret that you didn't fully enjoy your days of youth!"

"Well, I'm not certainly enjoying my 'days of youth' if I'm unable to kill you!" Hayami declared, shooting more and more bullets.

"Nyuaa!" Korosensei screamed. "I was just trying to help!"

Hayami's birthday ended with shrieks of an octopus, a hail of pink bullets, and ultimately a fun time with her partner.

* * *

 **A/N: *barrels through after a one year hiatus* YOOO I'M BACK with this birthday chapter that is one (1) year late. I'm really sorry. I got focused on other projects.**

 **Also, kudos to you for reading all the way here. Now I've reread it, every chapter here is a steaming pile of cheese and cringe. Urgh. I'm surprised at the favourites and follows, so thank you very much for them! Also, we've reached 10k views! Thank you! :D**

 **Organizing ChibaHaya Week 2018 was basically an excuse for me to finish this :) So you can expect more updates for this oneshot series as I tear through ChibaHaya Week.**

 **Minori and Fumiko's names are taken randomly, while Shiho's name is taken from Hayami's voice actress in the anime, Kawaragi Shiho.**

 **If you want to know what ChibaHaya stuff I'm mainly writing now, check out** _ **Which Partner.**_ **It's a crossover with Miraculous Ladybug. Even if you know nothing about ML, it's fairly easy to understand (I hope). It's basically about Chiba and Hayami being superheroes and the ship ChibaHaya is split into four different but fun dynamics.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please review! :D**


	10. Fear

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: Written for ChibaHaya Week 2018 Day 2- Fear.**

* * *

Fear

Fear.

The mind-numbing, freezing, death grip of horror. The one thing that made people revert back to their primal instincts of survival.

The sound of a gun firing reverberated through the small theatre, and Chiba's heart felt like it had stopped beating. His sweaty hands clutched his pistol and his head snapped to where the bullet was. He knew that was where Hayami was hidden, where she had made that risky shot, where she could be in grave danger at the moment-

To his relief, Hayami was safe, her back pressed against a cushy seat. She stiffly turned around, having remembered Chiba's position. She met his gaze and gave a weak, terrified smile. Even in this lighting, Chiba noticed that her hands were slightly trembling.

Fear morphed into anger. This was Hayami Rinka, ever-reliable, ever-calm, readily agreeing to whatever mission she had. How dare the hitman shoot at her! How dare the hitman scare her! Hayami-

Chiba forced himself to return to the task, blood boiling with suppressed fury. He wanted to make the hitman pay. He wanted him to feel pain because of what he had done to Hayami. Pain. Blood. Death.

 _I want to kill him._

Ritsu's calm yet alert face on his phone screen brought Chiba's common sense back. Chiba scolded himself for having such thoughts. It was what Korosensei had warned him. The gun would not be used for killing. They would try to accomplish their mission with the least bloodshed possible.

But the cold fingers of fear crept on Chiba's spine again. What if Hayami died? What if she died and it was all his fault? They were the only two who had a useful weapon.

 _I don't want her to die._

Chiba's throat restricted, and he made a promise to himself.

 _I have to protect her._

* * *

When the second gunshot echoed around, Hayami nearly jumped. _Chiba's not hit Chiba's not hit-_

Now that her position was exposed, everyone would be relying on Chiba. And the hitman knew that. She knew the hitman would specifically target Chiba, as he was the most dangerous person to the hitman.

And everyone knew that.

That was why everyone was covering for him.

She was ever so thankful that the extremely talented Sugaya had somehow managed to whip up a dummy in a few tense minutes. She was so _glad_ that it was the dummy whose forehead had been pierced, not Chiba's.

The third gunshot rang clearly, and Hayami knew it was Chiba who opened fire. She readied her position and aim, green eyes zoning on her target.

Now it was up to her. She knew Chiba would have to be in the open to shoot, so he would be extremely vulnerable.

And she was downright terrified for him.

It was even more terrifying that she could be responsible for his death.

"Ha ha, so that's where the other one is," the hitman laughed like a maniac, and he pointed his gun towards Chiba-

Like a machine, Hayami instinctively pulled the trigger before she could think. She didn't have time to think whether she could hit the gun or not, whether Chiba could shoot in time if she failed, if Chiba could survive the night-

 _BANG!_

The gun flew out of the hitman's hand and clattered on the floor. Hayami held up her smoking gun, beads of perspiration on her stoic face. "I finally hit the mark," she muttered, voice coming out as a breathless whisper.

 _I hit the gun._

 _Chiba is safe._

 _Everyone is safe._

What happened next was a whirl, as the students emerged from their hiding places and tied the hitman up. Hayami began to walk, feeling as light as air. Her gun was heavy and slicked with her sweat.

Chiba readjusted his beanie and felt his heartbeat slowly return to normal. Hayami's shot was right on time; Chiba was sure the hitman could shoot faster than him. Chiba allowed himself a little grin. He knew Hayami would come to his aid because that was what they did. They were partners. They protected each other.

So when he saw her, standing solemnly to the side, he smiled. They looked up in unison and their gazes met.

 _I was so scared for you,_ they wanted to say. _I'm so happy you're alright._

But words weren't really their thing, so they just grinned and bumped their arms together, like always.

* * *

It was no surprise that the sleazy Korosensei would host something like "a tunnel of fear" to matchmake his students.

It was no surprise that Chiba and Hayami were paired together. Their classmates had been shipping them for months, and after their little episode in the theatre, they were sure the class just shipped them more.

All business-like, the sniper duo readied their guns and stared at the dark opening of the cave.

"I'll be taking the torch," Chiba said. He used his right hand, also his dominant hand, to hold a gun, while using his left hand to grab the torch.

"Don't stray," Hayami mentioned and she followed behind Chiba. There was a very awkward silence. Chiba clumsily illuminated their surroundings with the torch, but so far, nothing seemed to be suspicious.

Chiba wasn't really used to handling things with his left hand, so he accidentally dropped it on the rocky cave floor and the torch rolled away, out of sight, leaving the duo in pitch darkness.

"I'll retrieve it," Chiba said and went away.

"We're not supposed to go in different directions!" Hayami reached out blindly and clutched Chiba's arm. "Okay, do you see it?"

"... Hayami, are you afraid of the dark?" Chiba chose to disregard her question.

"What? No. I'm afraid that we'll get lost," Hayami replied. "Where's Korosensei?"

As if to answer her, two high pitched screams sounded from the end of the cave, which felt very far from her.

Chiba couldn't see very well due to being in a dark environment and his black bangs swaying in front of his sight. _Maybe Hayami should hold the torch next time._

Hayami's eyes had just begun to adjust to the minimal light when they saw the handle of a torch, peeking out from behind a rock. "There!" Hayami gasped.

Chiba walked faster and as a result, he tripped and hit his head on the rock. Hayami had enough tact to let go of his arm, but she still ended up falling to the ground.

The girl slowly picked herself up and ignored the burning pain from her spine. She winced and reached for the torch. "Chiba? You okay?"

There was an achingly long silence.

Hayami shone the torch on her partner, and blanched.

Chiba was sprawled out on the floor, a little bit of blood seeping out of his forehead. His bangs were swept to the side, revealing his closed eyes.

"Chiba!" Hayami immediately put the torch down and gently slapped both of Chiba's cheeks. "Wake up!"

No reply.

Hayami began to panic, fear creeping in her stomach. The same feeling she had when the hitman aimed that gun at Chiba. She shook his shoulders. "Hello?"

No response

The girl's breathing quickened. What should she do? He was hurt again. Because of her.

The blood on his forehead was making her mind swirl… like a gunshot to the head… his unconscious body going pale… death….

Chiba's eyes snapped open, and Hayami blinked, shocked by the redness of his eyes and him waking up.

"I was just joking!" Chiba said, brushing his bangs to cover his eyes again. "I wasn't really asleep. You think a blow like that would've knocked me out-"

Hayami then punched his arm. Hard. Chiba flinched.

"Don't do that again!" Hayami exclaimed. "I was so worried for you, and here you are, just messing with my feelings…"

"I'm sorry," Chiba murmured, surprised by Hayami's reaction. But he recognized that face; that was the terrified face Hayami had when she was nearly shot by Gastro.

 _Was she really that concerned for me?_

"People don't usually die when they trip." Chiba sat up and felt his back, biting his lip as he did so.

"Well yes," Hayami frowned at him, then her face softened. "But you just reminded me of when… when we faced Gastro… I was so scared you might die, Chiba."

Chiba's eyes widened upon hearing Hayami's raw feelings. It wasn't often that they truly opened up to each other. Her eyes were wide and sincere, and Chiba found himself holding her stare.

"For the record… I was also scared for you too," Chiba admitted.

The heartfelt silence was interrupted by a nearby screech, and that little moment was broken. Hayami wiped the blood off Chiba's forehead and helped him up.

"This time, I'm taking the torch," Hayami clutched the torch and light bounced off the cave walls.

Then she turned to Chiba and smiled, "Won't want you in danger again."

* * *

 **A/N: … I'm still convinced that Hayami grabbed Chiba's arm during the Tunnel of Fear. Matsui, being the huge shiptease he is, just cut off the bottom part of the panel.**

 **Thank you for the kind reviews! I'm glad people still read this a year later. :D**

 **See you guys tomorrow! Feedback is appreciated!**


	11. Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: Written for ChibaHaya Week 2018 Day 3- Eyes.**

* * *

Eyes

Whether Chiba liked it or not, his eyes were always the main focus of himself.

Sugaya, for example, had drawn hundreds of eye drawings to see if he could manage to draw Chiba's eyes, but they were all incorrect. However, that only seemed to motivate the artist further, and Sugaya vowed to expand his eye collection to five hundred.

Okajima said that he had labelled Chiba as "No Eyes" in his contact.

While Itona had once wondered whether Chiba was a cyborg due to his apparent lack of eyes.

And there was Hayami.

Hayami, who could've probably cared less if Chiba had three eyes or none if he could carry out his work properly. Hayami, who was the closest to him but yet had never asked him about his eyes.

And there was something else he liked about Hayami.

When he made eye contact with someone, Chiba always felt like they were looking at his eyebrows or his nose. Never directly into his eyes. Of course Chiba couldn't blame them, they couldn't see his eyes.

But somehow, Hayami always managed to make _real_ eye contact with him.

Maybe she had X-ray vision and could see through his hair. Maybe she had asked Ritsu to scan his face. Or maybe it was just intuition.

He liked the way her unwavering green eyes looked into his. It was almost like they were communicating silently via eye contact instead of words. It had been a very long time since anyone had stared seriously at his eyes.

Chiba liked this connection.

The connection between him and Hayami.

* * *

The first time they made eye contact, it was at the baseball game.

After the boys' victory, Chiba had high-fived many of his classmates. Everyone was ecstatic by their win.

Chiba heard a loud cheer from the sidelines, and spun to see his female classmates pressed against the wire fence, clapping and jumping with all their might. His eyes travelled over their joyous faces until they landed on a certain someone.

Hayami had worn her hair in low pigtails. Chiba absentmindedly thought that the hairstyle was pretty cute.

Hayami wasn't laughing or dancing like some others, but there was a proud smile on her face. She was observing how the boys celebrated their victory, and she felt happy for them. They, the bunch of misfits, had just beaten the baseball team!

Suddenly, Hayami turned and looked right at Chiba.

Chiba couldn't breathe. It was as if the universe had frozen and it was just them. It felt she was right in front of her even though she was actually meters away. It felt like she could see through every barrier until she reached him. It was a bit uncomfortable, but somehow, Chiba craved it.

Hayami grinned and flashed him a thumbs up.

Chiba awkwardly smiled back, feeling his lips stretch unnaturally.

"Group hug!" Maehara announced loudly, and Chiba tore his eyes away. He was immediately smothered by blue uniforms and sweat, all of their exultant faces inches away from each other.

"To 3-E!" Isogai declared once they broke apart.

"To 3-E!" the boys chorused, pumping their fists towards the clear blue sky.

* * *

From that time onwards, every time something good happened, Hayami and Chiba would just look at each other.

It was their way of congratulating each other. Their way of acknowledging something good had happened.

When the results of their second exams came out, the entire class was brimming with joy. They had won the trip to the island! They had beaten 3-A!

The duo's grades had also improved greatly. That was the fruit of their hard work, and now they could finally enjoy it.

And there was it again. That brief moment of eye contact. That little polite nod. The way their eyes met, conveying compliments and thanks.

* * *

Mistakes were made. They had overestimated themselves. The island assassination had failed. They had failed.

It was painful to think that every time they made eye contact, it was because they accomplished something. And now? They didn't do anything helpful. They were big disappointments.

They couldn't bear to look at each other.

They didn't deserve to be looked in the eye and say "it's fine, there's next time". They didn't deserve comfort. They didn't deserve anything.

And yet, above everything else, they couldn't bear to face all those they had let down. Their classmates who had worked so hard for this important, potentially life-changing assassination. Everyone had done their jobs perfectly; everyone had helped with the assassination. But these two? The ones who were supposed to do the critical, finishing blow?

Failures.

 _Giant_ failures.

The two failures stuck with each other, sitting back to back to avoid direct contact. At least they were in trouble _together._

They had been fine at practices. Longer distance, unstable shooting platforms, moving targets, these all hadn't affected them.

But the suffocating atmosphere and the crucial moment of "this is it" made them falter.

They had done their best, but it wasn't enough.

* * *

The next time they made eye contact, it was when they received the real guns from Karasuma.

It wasn't an exchange of confidence or comfort. It was mostly one of "but we just failed" and "we can't do it".

But everyone was looking them with such urgent expressions. Hayami and Chiba had to admit it that, at the moment, they were the most suitable ones for gun wielding. It was absolutely staggering how even Korosensei and Karasuma, their superhuman teachers, were depending on them.

They were acutely aware of the power they had. Bullets were disastrous, but in their case, they could use it to save their class.

Once upon a time, the sniper duo had airguns, aiming to kill.

But now, they had real guns, and aiming to _save._

* * *

They were scared out of wits, with the big burden of defeating Gastro resting heavily on their backs.

But then Korosensei said, "I have some advice for you."

Hayami instinctively spun to look at Chiba to see his reaction, but he was staring at something else.

And they listened.

It wasn't just the two of them taking the responsibility. They had friends, classmates, teachers behind, ready to support them. This wasn't something they would do alone. This was something the class would do together.

And that gave them the boost they needed.

Chiba slowly turned to see Hayami looking at him. She was obviously nervous, but after Korosensei's advice, it seemed to have struck a chord in her.

Their lines of sight crossed, expressing silent wishes.

 _Let's move forward._

* * *

Gastro was tied up, they could proceed. Among the class' jubilant cheers, two souls searched for each other.

 _Congrats on your shot,_ Hayami thought.

 _Thanks for that shot,_ Chiba thought.

Chiba knew Hayami couldn't see his eyes, so it was especially impressive how she made direct eye contact with him every time, without fail.

This was no exception.

" _Good shot_ ," Hayami's eyes seemed to say as she raised her arm for the customary arm bump. " _I'm proud._ "

They had saved the class. They had recovered from their earlier falls.

They had done something good and worth celebrating.

They weren't ashamed of their eye contact any more.

Chiba shrugged off the stress and tension and grinned, bumping her arm with his.

* * *

A while later, Chiba asked what Hayami thought when she looked at him without seeing his eyes.

(It was the first time Chiba had mentioned his eyes to Hayami.)

"You can't see my eyes, but you keep on making eye contact with me."

"Well," Hayami tapped her chin. "We don't like to talk, so we can communicate through eye contact. Plus, I feel like you would like to be acknowledged." There was a pause. "I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No no, I like it," Chiba reassured her. His cheeks turned pink. "Umm, I don't mind it," he rephrased his sentence.

Hayami fiddled with her fingers, not knowing what to make out of his "I like it" comment.

"I wonder why you always manage to look directly in my eyes. Most people just stare at my eyebrows."

Hayami shrugged, genuinely puzzled. "Instinct?"

* * *

Chiba liked a partner who would look at him in the eye.

So even when Hayami became his secretary, he never thought of her as a subordinate.

No, they were working for the same company, they were just playing two different but equally important roles.

Chiba was sure his company- _their_ company would've never flourished if Hayami wasn't there.

Hayami was the only one to really look at him as if his bangs weren't there, yet she never inquired about them. She was the one who acknowledged him first whenever he succeeded. No matter what happened, he knew they always had each other's backs.

Nagisa often said he liked how Korosensei would "properly look at them". When further prompted, Nagisa would explain and say Korosensei would understand them and accept all of their strengths and flaws. He would appreciate and respect them.

Well, Chiba thought Hayami "properly looked at him" too.

Hayami didn't see him just as a socially awkward guy. She didn't see him as a random classmate. She saw him as her working partner and as someone of use. They respected and trusted each other. She wouldn't pry into his uncomfortable areas.

So Chiba properly looked at Hayami too.

He saw a hardworking, stoic girl. He saw someone who constantly took care of the burdens of others. He saw someone with high expectations of herself. He saw a partner, _his_ partner.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for the support! According to canon, Chiba and Hayami** _ **do**_ **stare at each other at celebratory moments. I find it cute and it tells us about their character and relationship.**

 _ **Guest:**_ **Thank you! Well, I think Chiba and Hayami's biggest fear is being a burden to other people. I also think Chiba might have a fear of being bullied due to being bullied for his eyes when he was young.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	12. Date

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: Written for ChibaHaya Week Day 4- Date.**

* * *

Date

For their first two "dates" (or appointments, as they liked to call it), it was Hayami who always initiated it.

Hayami wanted to have a breakthrough. She wanted to get closer to Chiba. After facing Gastro together, Hayami admitted she'd developed a small crush on him, so it was natural for her to want to know more about him. Besides, they were the sniper duo, so if they had a better relationship, they would work together better.

Unfortunately for her, both of these dates ended awkwardly. They were both very quiet and introverted, so it was difficult for them to communicate.

Hayami was afraid of ruining their partnership by this awkwardness. Hayami wasn't even trying to advance romantically, she just wanted to deepen their friendship. And now it could backfire completely.

But Hayami had also noticed that she was more assertive than Chiba. If she didn't make a move, they might as well never move forward.

So it came as a surprise when Chiba texted her and asked if she wanted to go to the summer festival with him.

Hayami reread the text carefully. Chiba's wording was polite, perhaps even more formal than usual. He clearly wanted to go out with her alone, and he cared very much about her reaction.

So basically, he just asked her out.

Hayami fidgeted, and a little grin appeared on her face before it vanished. She agreed to it quickly and sank into a bashful silence.

Strangely enough, Yada also asked her if she wanted to spend the summer festival together, like an outing for the girls. Hayami politely declined, although she didn't give the reason. She hoped they wouldn't see each other at the festival. It would embarrassing for her and Chiba.

The real problem was when Korosensei barged in and tried to force everyone to go to the summer festival. Hayami wanted a little peace and quiet with Chiba, not a noisy reunion with her class. But well, there was nothing she could do to change that.

On the day of the summer festival, Hayami took extra care in preparing her clothes. She wasn't completely vain, but like most girls, she _did_ want to look pretty. She contemplated letting down her hair, but that might just attract more attention from her classmates, so she chose to keep it up in pigtails.

Chiba was dressed in casual clothes, his usual beanie on his head. Upon seeing Hayami, they immediately greeted each other.

"You look great in the yukata," Chiba complimented honestly.

"Thanks," Hayami replied evenly. "I heard that there's a shooting game at the festival. Let's check it out."

None of them said a word as they stepped into the hustle and bustle of the festival, an array of bright colours before their eyes. The warm and humid summer air clung to their skin, as tantalizing aroma of food drifted into their nostrils. The calls of hawkers sounded from all sides. Chiba noted that the dark sky was clear, indicating a good night for a fireworks display.

"Chiba," Hayami tugged at his shirt, a notion he found endearing. "There's the game."

Chiba spun to see a sour faced middle aged man standing in a booth, a few guns beside him. There were targets behind him, with prizes dangling from the top. Just seeing the guns and targets made the assassin blood in him boil with excitement.

"That's our booth," he grinned. "Ten out of ten?"

"Ten out of ten it is," Hayami replied and they walked briskly to the game.

Both of them scored ten perfect bullseyes out of ten. The man's eye twitched with every shot. It was far too easy for Chiba and Hayami, but somehow, it was incredibly addicting.

When they chose their prizes, Hayami noted that Chiba's choice was a bit weird.

"Is that… a toy truck?"

As if stung by a bee, Chiba reflectively wrapped his arms around the box. "I-it's nothing. And what about you? What's _that_?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Hayami was offended by Chiba's incredulous tone. "That's a plushie!" she held up the vaguely humanoid stuffed toy, with bear ears on its head.

"It looks funny."

"It's cute!"

The man cleared his throat, unamused by the two teenagers. "If you're finished with your flirting, can you please move away? I can't run my business."

"Oh?" Chiba said. "We're planning to go for another round."

Seeing the man's terrified look was enough to motivate them to shoot perfectly. Maybe Karma's sadistic side had rubbed off them, maybe not, but at that moment, the sniper duo just selfishly wanted to show off.

"What do you want to get this time?" Hayami asked casually as if they were browsing at a supermarket and all of the prizes were within their grasp.

"I want this toy gun," Chiba replied as he fired at the targets.

 _That's the jumbo prize!_ The man scowled and crossed his arms. _The last time you just got lucky! There's no way anyone can get the jumbo prize two times in a row._

"And I want this plushie," Hayami used her gun to point at a stuffed figure with two cymbals in its flabby hands.

Chiba snorted. "That's even weirder."

"Stop insulting it!" Hayami gave a little pout.

But when they finished their second round flawlessly, Hayami got Chiba's toy gun and Chiba got Hayami's plushie, then exchanged them as gifts. The man in charge of the game was puzzled by their action, but decided that he would never understand teenage romance.

By now, the snipers were on fire and began to get carried away. They didn't stop playing the shooting game until the man forcefully dragged them away.

"Y-you can't do this!" Chiba protested as he clutched the numerous prizes to his chest.

"I can do whatever I want!" the man snapped, pushed to the limit. "Now because of you two brats, I won't be able to get a profit!"

"Sorry, we were having too much fun," Hayami said with a completely straight face. "Maybe you should turn up the difficulty level."

The man was annoyed by how nonchalant the two teenagers seemed to be. "Maybe you grab your boyfriend and scram!" he practically yelled at their direction.

It wasn't the first time they had been mistaken for a couple but they didn't care at all. What other people thought was none of their business.

The man put up photos he had taken of the sniper duo in front of the booth. "Now everyone will know what shameful things you had done!" he scolded.

"Fine, let's go," Hayami turned her heel and walked away, Chiba following her. Once they were out of the sight of the man, they shared a look, and began to laugh.

"Did you see his face!" Chiba gasped.

"The game was too easy," Hayami chuckled. "How could we not take advantage of that!"

"Yeah… but now we have too many prizes…" Chiba looked down at his arms, and sobered up quickly.

"... Maybe we should've stopped after three rounds." Hayami wondered what to do with the large amount of the plushies she had just won. "What should we do…"

"Chiba-kun? Hayami-san? Why so glum?"

A new voice cut through their musings. It was Nagisa. After explaining their situation, Chiba noticed there was something weird with Hayami.

"Are you okay? Your cheeks are red."

"It's just the heat." Hayami didn't want to admit it was because of Nagisa seeing her so close to Chiba. He could easily assume they were on a date, and she didn't want him to know.

"If you're not feeling well, we can always sit down and rest," he looked at her in concern.

"No, I'm fine. Don't want to spoil your fun." The last part of it came out as a mumble.

For the next half hour, the duo walked around, had a few bites, and played the occasional game. This date was less awkward due to constant external stimulus.

When they passed by the shooting booth again, they weren't surprised to see that _someone_ had drawn a red umbrella above their two pictures, with big hearts surrounding it. Someone had also written "no eyes" next to Chiba's picture and "ice queen" next to Hayami's.

Embarrassed by it, the duo quickly shuffled away, cheeks burning red by the implications of the drawing.

"The fireworks display should be starting soon," Chiba mentioned as he saw the crowd beginning to gather.

"Ah, that's a lot of people," Hayami looked at the masses around her, hugging her precious plushies to her chest.

Because neither of them were big on being around people, they decided to watch the fireworks at a distance. They sat on a bench next to a vending machine and watched as the fireworks zoom through the trees.

"They're so pretty," Hayami said softly, her eyes trained on the dazzling bursts of colour. Chiba could see the reflection of the glowing fireworks in her eyes.

"Yeah, they're so pretty," he agreed, turning his head away from Hayami to watch the display.

Chiba liked it. He liked how it was just the two of them in the silence. There was no one to witness their relationship.

Hayami's hand brushed against his, and Chiba felt something warm and fluttery blossom in his chest.

It was wrong, was it? He couldn't let his feelings distract him from working with his partner. He was afraid if their relationship started to venture out of the platonic zone, it may start to break until even their friendship would be ruined. And that would definitely interfere with their training and assassination.

He knew what they were doing. He knew these "appointments" were just thinly veiled dates. And he knew that Hayami had asked him out for two times, which meant she felt something for him too.

But _no,_ they couldn't. Their friendship and partnership was still budding and fragile. They couldn't risk it. Besides, they weren't mature enough to handle it all. Being friends was enough for them.

Even though two hearts longed to be with each other, they had to suppress their own feelings for the better good.

* * *

 **A/N: *barrels through* I had overestimated my ability to write fanfiction.**

 **Alright, it's here, and I'm not dead.**

 **Thanks for the support and please review!**


	13. Practice

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: Written for ChibaHaya Week 2018 Day 5- Practice/ Partner. In case it's confusing, this is written from the viewpoint of a random guy working at a shooting arcade.**

* * *

Practice

Through the years, he had seen a lot of customers go in and out of the shooting arcade.

He wasn't very old, maybe in his mid twenties when he first saw them. The peculiar duo of a black haired boy and a pigtailed girl, both wearing middle school uniforms.

The boy kind of freaked him out because his eyes were always covered by his bangs, while the girl had an unusually piercing stare.

What was even more unusual was how they acted as if they were adults even though they were clearly middle school students. And most middle school students didn't go to the shooting arcade three times a week. Shooting wasn't a very popular hobby.

But yet, these two were there. Every week. At the exact same time.

He had tried to make conversation with the kids, but they were very quiet and made minimal efforts to communicate. He learned not to pry, but still he felt curious about them.

The girl told him they were practicing at the arcade.

"Practicing for what?" he asked.

The girl stayed silent for a few seconds before the boy quietly stated they were practicing for a shooting tournament.

"Oh? When is it?"

The two exchanged a look and then the girl said, "Next March."

"That's a long time from now," he mentioned.

"We take it very seriously," the boy replied. "We have to practice constantly."

"Alright, have it your way." He watched as the two disappeared from the reception into their usual room.

These two were peculiar all right.

* * *

The two students became one of their regular customers. His shift always landed on when the two would be practicing. He heard his colleagues mutter among themselves. Why would two kids come to the shooting arcade so often? They were one of the few who had a gold membership card. Plus, according to some rumours, these kids were exceptionally good shots.

Sometimes, a bunch of other kids would also come along. They came less than the two shooter kids, and they always chattered loudly. Unlike the two kids, they were more carefree and joked with each other frequently.

"Wow, you kids really like going here," he said.

"Yeah, this shooting arcade is pretty nice," an outgoing blonde girl spoke. "It would be a bit better if the construction work over there stopped. Sometimes it gets really noisy."

"Hmm, what if I tell you we're building an area for paintballing?"

The girl's blue eyes glittered with excitement. "Wow, I love paintball! I bet Rinka-chan would be really happy. You know her? Hayami Rinka? The girl with peach coloured hair in low pigtails?"

"Yes, she comes here often. Always with the other boy," he recalled.

The girl chuckled. "Man, those two have a suspicious relationship. But I guess going to the shooting arcade together is their version of a date-"

"Nakamura!" someone else called. "Let's get going!"

"Bye!" the energetic girl waved and bounced back to her companions.

He thought about how different the blonde girl was from the shooter kids. The shooter kids acted more like adults than him sometimes.

* * *

The paintball venue opened during the summer holidays. Excited students flocked there to experience the sensation of being at a battlefield. For the first time, the pigtailed girl wasn't with the no eyed boy, she was with that blonde- Nakamura, and a few other girls.

"You're so good at it, so Yada, Kurahashi and I will be ganging up on you. You can handle us all, I suppose," Nakamura said.

The girl called Hayami remained emotionless. "I still have a lot to learn."

"Well anyways, you should have a good understanding of paintball sooooo you can impress Chiba when you go on dates-"

Hayami nudged Nakamura in the ribs and the blonde started to laugh. Ah, teenage theatrics were always so silly yet so amusing.

A few days later, the shooter kids resumed their usual schedule of practicing three days per week. One time, they decided to paintball. When they emerged, the girl was stifling laughter while the boy was immensely annoyed.

"That actually hurt, Hayami, it's not funny-"

Hayami was laughing so much she had to hold onto Chiba's shoulder for support. "I'm sorry! But your face was priceless!"

"I'm never going to paintball with you again," Chiba huffled, a breathless Hayami stumbling after him.

Of all the times they were at the shooting arcade, this was the first time they were more like middle school students than adults. And the change was rather interesting to see.

But that was the only time they laughed that much. After that, they immediately retreated into their quiet shell.

The seasons and days flew by, and yet these two were unchanging, determined to follow their schedule.

During the winter holidays, he noticed a sober, solemn aura around the duo. Hayami's eyes seemed to lack life as she walked up to the reception.

He wondered what had happened, but he knew he was in no position to ask. He wished he could do something to comfort them, but he knew how quiet and reserved they were.

That was the only time they had visited the arcade for the entire winter holidays.

After that, they basically disappeared from the shooting arcade.

He was worried for them. Sure, they never really talked or were friends, but he saw them almost every time he worked. It was uncanny not to see them for such a long period of time.

Suddenly, they reappeared, looking ten times happier than they did before. He didn't question them and they didn't say a thing.

The date of their shooting tournament loomed closer and closer at an astonishing speed, and before he knew it, he had known them for almost a year.

Strangely enough, the week before their tournament, they stopped going to the arcade. These two had always been so peculiar that it didn't really surprise him anymore.

The next time they visited, the new school year had already begun. The shooter kids now wore different high school uniforms, and the girl had let her hair down. They also behaved more casually around each other instead of always being so stoick and serious.

"Good to see you two back. We'll be running out of business if you guys don't come back," he joked. "How's the shooting tournament?"

"It went well," the boy said and that was all he was willing to reveal.

"I thought after the tournament was over, you guys would stop coming here to practice."

"Oh, that was what we thought at first, too," the girl answered. "But I guess we became too attached to shooting."

But even as she said that, he noticed as the kids grew up, they came back less and less until one day, they completely vanished. He assumed they were now at universities and then later, work, so they probably wouldn't have time to visit his little shooting arcade anymore.

Through the years, he had seen a lot of customers go in and out of the shooting arcade.

But these two peculiar kids were the ones he remembered the most. The middle school shooting prodigies who had a ridiculously strict training schedule.

When the kids (oh, but they weren't kids anymore) were in their twenties, they came back for a round of casual shooting. "Just for old time's sake," the girl (woman?) had said.

Years and years later, the shooter kids had almost all but faded from his memory, when two adults approached the reception.

He blinked, and he knew he had definitely seen these two before. The same slightly wavy, peach coloured hair, but up in a tight bun. The man's black bangs still hung over his face.

It was staggering to see how they were once little teenagers, and now they were fully grown adults.

"Yo, you're still working here?" the man asked as if he hadn't been absent from the arcade for more than twenty years.

He shrugged. "I have to continue my dad's business. Wow, can't believe it's been so long. You two grew up so much."

"You used to know my parents?" a new voice piped up. He turned to see a little kid of around twelve with wavy black hair, sharp red eyes looking curiously at him.

"Oh, he was the receptionist here when your dad and I were young," the woman explained.

 _Aww sweet, they got married and had a kid._

"It's a good place for a practice," the man said. "Haruka, let's come along. We'll teach you the basics."

It seemed like yesterday when the shooter kids entered the arcade for the first time, and now they had grown up and had another shooter kid of their own.

He had once seen a generation of kids practicing their shooting skills at the arcade, and now he would witness another generation.

* * *

 **A/N: Hehe sorry if it was crappy. Day 6 (Music/ Dance) will be a drawing while Day 7 (AU/ Bullseye) will be a new medieval (?) AU fanfiction posted on my account. Here's the summary:**

 **A dragon kidnaps a princess who's about to get married. Except the dragon is a really bad captor and the princess doesn't mind so long she has her cat.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**


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